Halloween
by ChaoticLyra
Summary: History would have been quite different if he'd grown up in a happy household. Watch ten different Halloweens in the life of Harry Potter, living with the only family Sirius could have brought him to. /AU/ /WIP/
1. Halloween 1981

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

I – October 31st, 1981

Someone was banging at the door.

Andromeda Tonks shook her head over the impatience of little children. Then again, her own daughter wasn't any better, that's why Andy felt so lucky her husband had volunteered to go with her around the neighbourhood asking for sweets tonight. So either they were back very soon – far too soon for her daughter's usual tastes – or some little guy was behaving very rudely.

And grabbed the bowl of sweets from the cupboard, gazed around swiftly to make sure nothing magical was in sight and opened the door.

Her jaw dropped open. "Sirius?"

Her young cousin was looking awful. He was crying and dripping wet. In his arms he was clutching a bundle of sheets that looked suspiciously like a baby. And Andy knew only of one baby in Sirius' vicinity. "Is that Harry?"

Sirius stifled a sob and nodded fiercely. Andy stepped to the side and urged him into the living room where he collapsed on one of the sofas. She rushed after him and took the sleeping toddler out of his shaking arms.

"What happened?" Andy asked anxiously. "Where are James and Lily?" She was afraid of the answer. She hadn't seen them since one fine day in July, when they had met in London to celebrate her daughter's eighth birthday. The Potters had gone into hiding shortly after that, because Albus Dumbledore had warned them the dark Lord Voldemort was targeting them. Nobody knew where they lived, apart from Andy's cousin Sirius Black, James' friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew and Lily's best friend Alice Longbottom. Andy and her family only heard about them from Sirius during his weekly visits, much to Nymphadora's regret who loved James and Lily dearly – Lily especially, because Dora had fondness for unusual hair colors. Andy and Ted liked the young couple as well, they had ever since Sirius had brought them over.

But Sirius had Harry with him and that practically dictated something had happened to James and Lily. Something had to have happened, given the state of her cousin. Andy looked down on Harry in her arms and noticed the deep red, lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. She stroked the toddlers silky hair away when Sirius finally spoke.

"I was going to visit Peter tonight," he told her. "I've had a bad feeling all evening. When I could find him, I went to James' house. The door was opened and – and –" he sobbed and buried his face in his hands. "the dark mark was over their house. I went inside, thought maybe there was something – you know – I just hoped…" Sirius cried into his hands for a few moments and Andy felt tears drop from her eyes.

"James was in the hallway. I bet he tried to fight so Lily could get out. But she didn't. She was up in the nursery, in front of the crib. She did something, something against the dark lord." He looked up suddenly. "He's dead, Andy, Voldemort is dead."

She flinched at the name then stared at him. "Dead?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his eyes, then sobbed again. "But James – he's gone. And Lily. First I thought Harry was gone too, but then he started crying. There was nobody there and James and Lily dead and little Harry crying…" He stopped talking and just sat there staring at his hands. Andy hugged the baby to her breast and started rocking him gently, more for her own comfort than his since he was still sleeping soundly.

It was silent for a few minutes. Andy tried to imagine Sirius without James, tried to think how Remus and Sirius would sit without him between them and how Harry would have to grow up without his parents. Sirius looked up abruptly. "I need you to take care of him."

"What?" Andy was startled out of her thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"I need to get rid of someone – something. I can't do it when Harry's with me. Andy, I need you to take care of him."

"You can't leave him here," Andy denied. "What about his family? And what do you mean, get rid of?"

"That doesn't matter," Sirius shook his head impatiently. He looked around, then rushed over to the table were Nymphadora's drawing papers were scattered. He wrote furiously for a second. "And he doesn't have family, only Lily's awful sister and you know she hated her. We're the closest relatives he has."

Andy was staring at his back in confusion. Sure, with James' mother being her and Sirius aunt in some way they were related but there had to be somebody who was closer to the Potters. "What about the Longbottoms?"

Sirius looked up in surprise. "They are closer to us than to the Potters, why?"

"No, not the relation. But Alice is his godmother. If you can't take care of Harry, she should."

"Andy, nobody knows where they are. They went into hiding when James and Lily did. I don't have time to search for them." He turned around and handed her a piece of paper. "Here, take this. Please take care of him. I'll be back as soon as I can."

She shifted Harry in her arms and took the paper. She glanced at it and then shook her head. "No, Sirius –"

"Please," he came close to begging her. "The ministry and everyone would send him to Lily's sister and she's horrible. You can take care of him. I have to go. I have to – to chase a rat."

"A rat?" Andy frowned tiredly. Sirius eyes were dry now, only the tear tracks on his cheeks showed his earlier breakdown. But the look in his eyes was frightening, until it softened when he looked at the bundle in her arms. He stepped closer and stroked Harry's hair, then bend down to kiss his forehead.

"Please, Andy," he repeated and looked at her pleadingly. She nodded once and he whispered a thank you before he turned around and left, leaving her standing with a one-and-a-half year old toddler in her arms.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Good morning," Ted greeted her when he entered the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table. She had went to bed early after conjuring a crib for Harry and had not been awake when Ted and Nymphadora had returned. "Andy, you have to explain the baby to me."

Andy had been staring at her teacup and gave a sad smile at her husband's words. She pushed the _Daily__Prophet_ in his direction as he sat down and he took it frowning.

You-know-who dead screamed the headline in giant letters, with a slightly smaller line beneath it: _Harry__Potter,__the__boy__who__lived__ – __he__defeated__the__dark__lord!_

Andy observed Ted blanching and swallowing hard as he read the article that detailed what Sirius had told Andy the evening before. Of course, the reporter hadn't seen the house and – contrary to what Sirius had mentioned – claimed Harry to have defeated he-who-must-not-be-named. How a toddler should have done so was not questioned in the article, instead it mentioned that the house had blown up shortly after the bodies of James and Lily were pulled out. Apparently Rubeus Hagrid had seen Sirius leave with Harry and the author reported Harry to be at an 'undisclosed but safe location'. Ted looked up.

"So, the baby asleep in our bedroom… is Harry?"

Andy nodded. "Yes. Sirius brought him here yesterday evening while you were out with Dora."

Ted shook his head. "Why did Sirius –"

"Turn the page," she interrupted him and settled her face in her hands. She knew what he would read next. Sirius Black betrayed Potters. Andy couldn't believe the article claiming Sirius to have been the Potter's secret keeper who had betrayed them to Voldemort and blown up a street, killing twelve muggles and his friend Peter Pettigrew, when captured by Aurors. But it was Albus Dumbledore who had been quoted confirming Sirius as the secret keeper. It just didn't make sense to Andy.

"Sirius wouldn't have done that," Ted said agitated. "He's a bit rash but no murderer. And he never would've betrayed James."

"I know!" Andy moaned into her hands. "It doesn't make sense. I mean, he was here and a complete wreck, but then he left again. I've tried to contact the Ministry earlier this morning, but the Head Auror told me they've send Sirius to Azkaban already."

Ted let out a long breath. "So, what now? Won't Children Services take Harry in? Or his family?"

Andy snorted and gazed at him. Then she flicked her wand and accioed the paper Sirius had written. Ted read it quickly. "This doesn't clear up anything."

"No, it doesn't. It's no explanation whatsoever. It's just Sirius making me guardian in his absence based on his relation to me, and to Harry." She sighed "Ted, what do we do?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "We know Lily has – no, had – a muggle sister."

"Whom she hated and who hated her. We were at the wedding, remember? We can't give Harry to her, poor little boy would be unhappy his whole life."

"Well, what do you want to do, Andromeda?"

"I don't know, _Theodore_."

He glared at her. When she slumped he said softly, "We never had a child after Dora out of fear your family might… do something."

Andy looked at him carefully. "You mean we should, well, raise him?"

Ted shrugged. "We have all the legal stuff right here," he said, waving Sirius' paper. "Remus would never be allowed to keep Harry and at least we didn't hate his parents. And we knew him before he was called – what was it?" he looked at the Prophet. "Ah yes, the boy who lived."

She smiled slightly. "Yes, that's true." Andy considered it for a moment. "You know, it might be the right thing to do. We could turn the second guest room into a nursery. I think we still have most of Dora's old things in the basement."

Ted nodded at her and stood up. "I'll make breakfast and you get Dora and our new charge. We'll go to the Ministry to do the legal work after eating."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Well, Mrs Tonks, this seems to be genuine. It is nice to know Harry Potter will be living in a nice magical household as yours."

"Thanks," Andy said warily. "Just this signature and we are done?"

"Exactly," the woman from Child Services smiled. "We will send someone along in a few weeks to see if all is well, just like we do in every case of changing guardianships or adoptions."

Andy nodded and signed the form with her full name, then watched it pulse a light red.

"Wonderful," the woman acknowledged and duplicated the parchment with a wave of her wand. "Every file and post will now be send to you, Mrs Tonks. And if I might warn you about incoming owls the next few days? Harry Potter has a lot of people who want to thank him."

Nodding again, Andy took her copy and left the office. In the hallway, Ted and Dora were already waiting for her, Ted carrying Harry in his arms. The toddler was looking around curiously and occasionally tugging at Ted's collar.

"All done," she declared after tucking the paper away and taking Harry from her husband. "How about we do some shopping to fill Harry's new cupboards?"

Dora cheered. "Can I choose some of the clothes? And a new broom for him?"

Andy sighed. "He will not be needing a broom, Dora, he is not even two years old!"

"Sirius gave him one for his first birthday and you bet James did let him fly it often enough." Andy turned to Ted who was examining the ceiling innocently.

"No," she repeated and started to walk towards the elevators. "He will not be having a broom."

"Bwoom!" Harry exclaimed and laughed while waving his little arms. "Bwoom, bwoom!"

"See, mum?" Dora skipped next to her. "He wants one!"

"You will both learn that you don't always get what you want," Andy answered resolutely and then frowned when her husband winked at her daughter. "You two are incorrigible."

Ted shrugged. "You know," he said softly. "James had grand plans for his son to be the next Quidditch star of Gryffindor."

Andy shut her eyes when they stood in the elevator, trying to stop the tears forming again. All three Tonkses had had a good cry when they had told Dora about what had happened the last night. They would sorely miss their friends.

When they apparated into Diagon Alley, Ted side-alonging Dora and Andy still with Harry on her arms, they were greeted by an exuberance not even seen on Christmas. The whole street seemed to celebrate the demise of You-Know-Who with price reductions and sales. It was a stark contrast to the feelings of the Tonks family, who while being glad he-who-must-not-be-named was dead, were not ready to celebrate as two of their friends were dead as well.

They spend most of the time in Twinder's Toddler Toys and Cedrella's Children Clothing, before briefly examining the nursery furniture in Frembass' Furniture. When Dora started to get hungry and Harry looked tired, Ted and Andy decided to return home.

As they stepped to the Apparition point, Albus Dumbeldore stopped them.

"Mr and Mrs Tonks, Nymphadora," he greeted them with a friendly smile even as Dora grimaced at her name. "Might I assume that this is young Mr Potter?"

"Yes, that's Harry," Andy confirmed with a smile for the boy who was now resting against her shoulder, watching them trough sleepy eyes.

"Ah yes," the headmaster of Hogwarts said, "I just heard you had taken up his guardianship. I actually want to discuss exactly that with you."

"There is nothing to discuss," Ted said firmly and looked at the old man warily. "He will be living with us now."

"That might not be such a good idea," Dumbeldore said and both Ted and Andy frowned. "But please," he continued, "let us discuss this elsewhere. Might I invite you for lunch in the Cauldron?"

Andy and Ted shared a look and reluctantly agreed. After they had settled at a table, Dumbledore waved his wand and Andy saw the shimmering indication of a privacy ward.

"I cannot in good conscience let you raise this young boy," he reopened his earlier argument. "It is much to dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Andy asked suspiciously. "How can it be dangerous? You-Know-Who was defeated yesterday."

"Yes, but you of all people should know there are still dangerous people around, his followers. You have to think of your family, Mrs Tonks: Your sister and her husband, for example, but quite a few others haven't been captured yet. They will possibly come after him. I will take him to his aunt where he will be safe."

Ted scoffed. "How can he be any safer in a muggle home than in our house?"

Dumbledore leaned forward and answered in a conspiratorial tone. "He will have a better protection there, based on his family's blood."

"Okay," Andy started, glaring at the man. Sirius had given Harry to her. Lily had hated her sister. The sister was awful. Why in Merlin's name should he be safe there? "First of all, blood magic is illegal. Second, on the same argument we could raise this kind of protection at our home, because we _are_ related, albeit not closely. Thirdly and most importantly: Guardianship was already signed over to me. And I will not give it up to a person who behaved as horrible to her sister as this muggle did."

"I wanted to ask," Dumbledore said unconcernedly. "how you did gain guardianship. I imagine a lot of people would try to gain custody of him based on the argument of being related."

"Maybe so," Andy acknowledged. If she could, then so could every other – remaining – Black, the Malfoys, the Prewetts, the Weasleys, the Yaxleys and the Lestranges, although the last one would be a stretch if it wasn't her Black-born sister Bellatrix. And she would never ask for custody of a small child. Or any child.

Dumbledore seemed to wait for an answer, but Andy remained silent until the food had arrived and she saw her daughter tucking in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ted smirk slightly when Dumbledore asked,

"How did you manage to be granted custody of the wizarding world's hero?"

"Well," Andy said slowly. "I had this parchment, written and signed by Sirius, that made me Harry's legal guardian in his absence. And since he was shipped to Azkaban – without a trial I might add – he will be absent for some time."

"The deeds of Mr Black are something we all rather want to forget," Dumbledore said frowning. "And he brought Harry to you and wrote such a paper? I wonder if he…. Hmm. May I see it?"

"No," Andy refused. "You have no business with this. We had Child Services check it and they declared it to be genuine. Whatever Sirius did or not did before or after writing it, it doesn't change a thing."

"Please reconsider. You might feel safe in you house, but it's possibly not safe enough."

"We contracted a firm to upgrade the wards this morning," Ted said. "And they already _are_ good, because as you said earlier, we have Andy's family to think of."

"You are fighting a lost battle here, professor," Andy said firmly. "We will not be giving Harry away. He will live with us and be much happier than he ever could be with Lily's awful sister."

She stood up and carefully took Harry out of the transfigured seat, but the boy slept on undisturbed. Dora jumped out of her seat and took hold of her father's hand when he stood up. "Bye Professor," she chirped cheerfully and Ted and Andy followed suit. "Good day, Professor Dumbledore."

And with that, the newly four-headed family left the Leaky Cauldron and returned home.

.

.


	2. Halloween 1985

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

II – October 31st, 1985

"Harry Potter!"

The five year old boy jumped when he heard the voice of his aunt scream his name. Then he smiled and hid the tube behind his back.

"Yes Aunt Andy?" he asked innocently when she appeared in the doorway.

"Did you or did you not smear toothpaste on the stair's railing?" she asked sternly, brandishing her wand. Harry tried to keep his face in the innocent smile and shook his head.

"Accio toothpaste!" Andy said and the tube flew into her hands. She frowned at him. "I think I'll have to have a talk with your Uncle Remus if this is what you get up to after an afternoon with him."

Internally, however, she smiled.

Remus Lupin had appeared at her door two days after that fateful Halloween four years ago, looking worse than ever. Andy had written him a letter, telling him about Sirius bringing Harry over and leaving again, and together they had discovered, that Sirius must have meant going after Peter when he went to after 'a rat'. But they all agreed Sirius would have never betrayed James and that made all the difference to Remus, who could now still think of all of his friends – whether deceased or imprisoned – as friends. He had spend more than a month with Andy and Ted, mostly being babysitter for Dora and Harry, but also as conversation partner for Ted when Andy was with the children, before Andy decided he looked healthy enough again. Only then she had let him return to his own flat, and only after making him promise to come over at least once a week to visit. Remus hadn't needed much of an invitation, the idea of helping take care of Harry made him happier than anything else.

For Andy and Tonks, the first few months had been quite an adventure. While they hadn't forgotten how hard having a toddler in the house could be, they hadn't really taken into account how tiring having a toddler and an eight year old daughter together could be. When Harry was taken care of, Dora decided she wanted to go out, or needed help with homework or something like that. And if she was occupied in her room with a new game or book, Harry would be needing attention. He had been a very curious toddler, walking shakily through the rooms, climbing on top of tables and windowsills, opening cupboards and tearing down curtains.

But he had grown quickly and soon they had celebrated his second birthday, then his third, where they had introduced Neville Longbottom to him. Alice and Frank had been attacked a few days after James and Lily and had been in St. Mungo's ever since. The healers thought a recovery unlikely. For Andromeda, who had been classmates at Hogwarts and good friends with Frank, it was almost as bad as losing Sirius and James, her little cousins. That her sister Bellatrix had been involved made it even worse. Augusta, Frank's mother, had taken up raising her grandson and was quite glad to leave him with Andromeda and Harry from time to time. And Harry and Neville got along splendidly.

Of course, everybody who met Harry got along with him, he was just too cute a child to not love him. On Dora's eleventh birthday, a few months before, they had been to a fair. Harry had spend one ride next to a little girl and immediately declared her his friend afterwards. Every time they went to Diagon Alley he would find another child to talk to and every parent was quite taken with him. And Andy doubted it was just his 'boy-who-lived-ness', as Ted called it. Dora loved Harry like a little brother and made sure to tell him so very often. She had been in Hogwarts for two months now and Andy had received four letters from her, two for Harry and one for her and Ted each.

But it was Remus who appeared to be Harry's favourite person – and Neville's too. He would tell them stories of the Marauders, meaning James, Sirius, Peter and him, and about Lily and Alice with whom he had been good friends too. He had far more patience then Andy and Ted combined and would take part in every game Harry and Neville invented. And he brought them books – a lot of books – from which he would read them stories when they got tired.

Three months before, on Harry's fifth birthday, he had brought a broom for Harry, saying it was high time for the next Quidditch star of Gryffindor house to start his training. Harry, who had heard more than enough stories about his father and how he could fly, was extremely excited. And not surprisingly, he took to flying like a fish to water. While Andy watched him with shaking hands and a cushioning charm on her lips, he happily flew wild circles three meters above the ground. She was thankful the children's beginner broom wouldn't fly higher, but that didn't stop her from worrying. Dora on the other hand had grabbed her own broom and after that, they had been outside flying together nearly every day until Dora had left for Hogwarts.

"Maybe I should let you clean it yourself," she told Harry who looked up at her with wide eyes. "And there will be no sweets tonight."

"No, Auntie Andy, please!" he pleaded. "I'll go clean it, but you can't take aways my sweets."

She tried to glare at him for a few seconds, but had to smile. What could she expect of James Potter's son who heard about pranks and jokes all day long? She sighed, then she looked around.

"Didn't I tell you to clean this room up? What are all these books doing on the floor?"

"I was cleaning," Harry protested. "I was cleaning, then I finded my dragon and we had to play!"

"You mean you found your dragon," Andy corrected him. "But what would your Uncle Remus say if he saw all the books he gave you on the floor? He wouldn't be very happy."

Harry's eyes widened again and he scrambled onto his feet. "I put them away," he promised. "When I clean up, can Neville come?"

Andy shook her head. "No, Neville can not come. It's too late."

"But it wasn't even dinner!"

"I would have made dinner if you hadn't smeared toothpaste on the railing, young man. Now clean up your room and we will talk about sweets after dinner."

She left Harry alone and heard him talking to his dragon figurine and plushies while she went down the stairs. Once down, she waved her wand to clear the railing from the sticky white substance and shook her head. Whatever – or whoever – had given him that idea?

When she had just set the table for three – putting one plate back in to the kitchen with a sigh – and Ted returned from work.

"Hmmm. This smells awfully good," he said and kissed her. "Where's Harry?"

"Up in his room, putting away his books," she told him. "Go and change out of your robes and bring him down with you. Dinner's ready."

A few minutes later she heard him rumble down the stairs. "- and then she yelled my name really loudly 'cause she got toothpaste all over her hands," she heard Harry tell her husband while giggling. "And then she said I can't have any sweets tonight. Can I have sweets, Uncle Teddy?"

"We'll see after dinner. If you behave, maybe Andy will forget about the toothpaste and let you have bit of chocolate."

"No treacle tart?"

"I don't think we have any treacle tart. But let's see what your Auntie made for dinner."

Ted came into the kitchen with Harry hanging onto his back. Andy smiled exasperatedly and he winked at her. Harry slid down Ted's back and rushed over to his seat.

"Can Uncle Remus come over?" he asked cheerfully, while Andy filled his plate with potatoes and carrots. "I have a secret I want to tell."

"You have been at his house the whole afternoon, Harry." Andy cut his potatoes into smaller pieces. "Why didn't you tell him then?"

"Dunno." Harry shrugged. "I forgot."

"Then it can't be too important. You can tell him the day after tomorrow, when he comes to visit."

"It's very important!" Harry protested. "I have to tell him today!"

"Well, Remus is probably eating dinner now as well." Andy sat down and filled her own plate. "We will not disturb him. And you should eat too."

"But isn't Uncle Remus all alone?"

"Yes, he is."

Her answer made him look at her pleadingly and she desperately turned to Ted. He shrugged.

"I don't see why we can't floo him. Harry's right, Remus is alone and if he isn't already eating, he can join us."

Andy sighed and stood up again. She went into the living room to the fireplace and threw in a hand of floo pulver, then stuck her head in. "Remus Lupin!"

She startled him, where he was sitting on his worn-out couch, reading a book. "Andy?"

"Hello, Remus. What are you having for dinner?"

"I was just about to warm some soup up." He shrugged. "Why?"

"I have a small boy who wants to tell you a secret he forgot this afternoon. And me and Ted would like for you to join us for dinner before listening to Harry's possibly earth-shattering secret." Remus chuckled. "So, are you coming over?"

"Of course," Remus agreed. "I would never pass up an opportunity to join you for dinner. Especially not when there are secrets involved."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Well, I'm sorry, but I have another file to work through before tomorrow morning," Ted excused himself. "Andy, if you're making dessert, please call me."

Andy nodded and shook her head at the wink Ted shot Harry. The little boy was playing with his glass of juice and had been listening to the conversation between Ted and Remus who were debating how the recent win over the Tornados would help the Falmouth Falcons in the League. Andy wasn't all that interested in Quidditch, but every other person in her family – Remus included – was.

Ted left the kitchen and Andy started gathering the plates. She waved at Remus to let her do the work and for him to just go into the living room like she always did and he smiled at her in gratitude like he always did. Then he turned to Harry.

"Harry, I heard you wanted to tell me a secret?" Remus asked him and the boy brightened immediately.

Andy interrupted before he could start. "But first, you have to drink your juice."

With a grimace he took the offered glass and emptied it, then he slid out of his seat and rushed after Remus, climbing onto his lap, like he always did when Remus read him a story.

He looked back into the kitchen with a slight frown on his face. "You have to make the door shut, Auntie Andy. I can just tell Uncle Remus."

Andy rolled her eyes. Of course he would only tell his Uncle Remus, whom else? She whispered a charm and let the dishes and bowls float in front of her to the sink and shut the door.

"Now I can tell you!" Harry cheered and clapped his hands. Remus waited for a few moments, then asked, "What is your great secret, Harry?"

"Look!" Harry exclaimed, then shut his eyes to concentrate.

Remus gaped at him as the black hair grew longer and longer, until it reached his shoulders. Then Harry opened his eyes and grinned happily. "Did you see?" he asked. "Just like Dora!"

"Wow," Remus said impressed after blinking a few times. He ran his fingers through the now long black hair, that didn't stick up at the back of Harry's head any longer. He shook his head to clear it.

"Can you do colors as well, like Dora does? Or your face?"

Dora liked changing her hair into a different color every day. Her favourite had been an electric blue that made other people blink and she had worn it the whole summer long, before finally agreeing on a buttery yellow for the first day of school. But she was a full metamorphmagus and only had to concentrate hard enough to change facial structures and the like, a healer had told them in a few years, when her magic had matured, she would be able to change anything about her in the blink of an eye.

"No." Harry looked disappointed. "I can only do the hair and it won't change colors."

"Maybe you just have to wait a few years." Remus placated him. "For now, the hair is quite an achievement. Congratulations, Harry."

The boy beamed up at him. Then he frowned thoughtfully and whispered, "Do you think I can tell Auntie Andy?"

Remus nodded solemnly. "Yes I think you should. She'll be very interested in hearing about you talent."

"Okay, I can tell her tomorrow. And Uncle Teddy and Neville too?"

"If you want to tell them, then I think it is a good idea. Or you can just leave it as it is now and surprise them."

"Yeah!" Harry cheered. "I'll go and show Auntie Andy now! D'you think she'll yell?" Suddenly he looked a bit scared. "She might try to take away my sweets again."

"Why did she want to take your sweets?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow, quite interested in the answer. Harry smiled a bit.

"I put toothpaste on the stair rail, like Dora told me to. Auntie Andy screamed my name real loud and said I couldn't have any sweets tonight. But Uncle Teddy says, maybe she'll forget I made the stair rail toothpasty."

"Well," Remus said with an amused grin. "If you tell her about your hair, I think she'll forget about your toothpasty prank."

Harry nodded enthusiastically and jumped down from Remus' lap. He sped into the kitchen and Remus grin widened when he heard Andy's startled cry. A few seconds later she entered the living room.

"Did you hex him?" she demanded of Remus who started laughing when he saw the indignant expression on Harry's face.

"No!" he yelled. "I told you, Auntie Andy, I can do it myself. Look!"

She looked down at him and her eyes widened when he shortened his hair until it was the usual short and unkempt looking cut that stood up on the back of his head. Andy shook her head in amazement. That was something she hadn't expected at all.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Why wasn't I allowed to go out tonight?" Harry asked when Andy had tucked into bed. After Andy had gotten over her shock of finding at least part of a metamorhmagical talent in him, she had caved in and allowed him a few pieces of chocolate. Remus of course had gotten a bit more chocolate – the man was practically addicted to the treat and Andy had no problem giving him more and more – and Ted had finished the other half of the large bar alone.

Afterwards Ted had asked for Andy's help with his latest file – as he was a researcher in Healing Magic and Andy had been a MediWitch, they worked together quite often – and Harry had listened to Remus telling a story about a prank the Marauders had pulled on Halloween their fourth year. Andy came back to see a half asleep little boy listening attentively as always to a story Remus told about Lily dragging James and Sirius along to a Halloween Muggle night in a theatre, where everybody wore costumes. And costumes made Harry think of going around the neighbourhood, asking for sweets.

"Because you are too little yet," she answered with a smile, but Harry shook his head.

"But Uncle Remus says I grow up every time he sees me!"

"And you are growing up very fast," Andy agreed. "Next year, you may go. But until then, you stay a little boy, alright?" She nuzzled his cheek and gently pressed a kiss on it.

Harry giggled. "Will Granny Augusta let Neville come too?"

Andy smothered a grin. Augusta didn't like the term 'granny' one bit, but she loved Neville and Harry too much to tell them so. The formidable woman had been very stern with her grandson until he had made friends with Harry. Andy understood Augusta had been afraid of losing Neville like she had her son and her daughter-in-law, but seeing him playing and laughing with another child softened her somewhat.

"I will talk to her. Now, close your eyes and sleep. We want to go grocery shopping tomorrow."

Harry nodded and yawned. She quietly went over to the door and extinguished the lights, then almost closed the door until only a small ray of light shimmered into the room.

"Good night," she whispered into the dark and smiled at the unintelligible murmur that answered her. The day had been a long one for her little boy.


	3. Halloween 1990

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

III – October 31st, 1990

Harry and Neville were both laughing hysterically as they stood in front of the mirror. They had just dressed up to go out and get sweets and were now royally amused as they pranced around in their vampire and wizard outfits.

Harry had his hair sleeked back with every potion he had found in the house and painted his face very pale. He wore a suit and a black cape and thought he looked very much like the picture in his muggle fantasy book.

Neville had a black pointy hat and normal black robes, but also a cape, a long white beard that made him look very weird combined with his brown hair, and a staff which was Neville's favourite stick he had found behind one of the greenhouses at Longbottom Hall.

Together, the two thought they made for a hilarious sight.

"Harry, you're only going after you've put your clothes away," Andy said from the doorway. "Neville, whose hat is that?"

Harry groaned and started gathering the different robes and t-shirts that were laid out on his floor. Neville grinned at Andy and said proudly, "It's my own. Gran said I'd need one for Hogwarts next year anyway so I might as well have this one now. Is my beard right?"

"Right ridiculous," Harry threw in and both boys started laughing again.

Andy shook her head and left them alone again, she'd have to check on them in a few minutes to make sure they weren't causing any trouble. Harry took after his father in more than his looks and Neville had developed a far more mischievous side then Frank had ever portrayed, but both of them were as exceptionally intelligent as their mothers had been. Remus – who had been home schooling both for four years now – had already warned her that they knew more spells and jinxes then he'd known in his OWL year, but he just couldn't tell them 'no' when they asked how exactly the Marauder's pranks had worked.

Of course, neither boy could cast any of the spells, without a wand and a much less defined magical core. But it was no question that both would be powerful wizards when grown up, providing they didn't get themselves killed by angry girls or prank-victims. Dora was their favourite target when she was home from Hogwarts, and she swore to have both their hides one day on a regular basis. Ted always closed both eyes when he was the victim of a prank and laughed along most of the time, while Remus enjoyed his post as being off-limits – Harry and Neville would never test anything on him. He had cemented this post with too many anecdotes about the marauders and his own adventures. Andy and Augusta on the other hand were also targeted fairly often, but they at least would make the boys pay the consequences – which usually resulted in them being grounded or doing extra chores.

When Andy returned to Harry's room, both boys were sitting cross-legged on Harry's bed playing Exploding Snap. Only the dragon figurines remained on the floor and one piece of clothing on Harry's chair, which was not his own.

"Harry, I told you no pranks on Halloween," Andy said warningly, startling Harry and Neville. One of the cards promptly exploded and the boys hissed in pain. "That's Dora's favourite blouse and you will put it back immediately," Andy continued without paying any attention to the grimaces they had on their faces while suckling their burned finger tips. "and you better not rig it or I will let her curse you."

"She can't curse me," Harry protested. "She's not allowed, remember?"

"Do _you_ remember her birthday in summer?" Andy asked in return. "She's legally allowed to hex, jinx and curse you and we both know she will." She pointed at the blouse. "Put it back. Now."

Harry had blanched at the mention of hexes, jinxes and curses and dashed off to return the blouse to Dora's room. Neville climbed of the bed and asked, "Is Dora really going to be an Auror when we go to Hogwarts?"

"She hopes so," Andy smiled. "She wants to be an Auror but she has to go through their entry examinations first. But she's is already preparing herself for that."

"She's learning a lot of curses and bad thingies," Harry added from the door. "She said she knows this one shop in Knockturn Alley where only dark wizards go to and buy evil jewellery and furniture. But she won't say how a cupboard can be evil."

"Because that is no topic she should discuss with you," Andy reminded him. "Now, I'm satisfied. Your room is clean enough. Go down and tell Ted you are allowed to leave."

Harry and Neville cheered in unison and rushed down the stairs, Andy following at a slower pace. She nodded at her husbands questioning look while he was being dragged to the front door. The boys checked their costumes in the mirror next to the wardrobe while Andy and Ted put on normal cloaks to blend in with muggles.

"Why do we have to apparate?" Harry whined when Andy took his and Ted took Neville's hand. "Why can't we just go around the neighbourhood here? I bet old Mrs Morris gives a lot of stuff."

Andy sighed. "Great Merlin, Harry. We've talked about this again and again. What will a wizard or a witch do when they see you?"

"Point at me and squeal," Harry answered with an eye roll. "Or try to hug me or shake my hand. Or want to introduce me to her daughter," he added with a slightly cocky grin and a side glance at Neville who laughed.

Andy just rolled her eyes. Harry had known about his fame since he was six, old enough to read and devour the books Remus had given him without having an adult edit the parts about him. While they had never avoided going outside with him, it was then when Harry started to question why people always stared at him and pointed. He adored Andy and Ted as his Auntie and Uncle, but knew they weren't his parents and loved their memory and the stories he heard about them. In Remus' lessons about history he hadn't understood why You-Know-Who had killed James and Lily – nobody knew – or how he as a baby could have killed the dark lord. He was amused by the fans he had and the attention he got, but there were enough levelheaded people around to keep him from getting a too big head – they all remembered how James had been as his age and were glad Harry didn't have the same cocky attitude, although it sometimes came through.

"Do we want a scene like that while going around with all the muggles?"

"No," Harry dragged out and huffed. "Fine, I'm ready."

They waited for Neville to nod in agreement, then apparated into the little muggle neighbourhood Ted and Remus had scouted a few days ago, Ted and Andy preparing for a rather boring walk and Harry and Neville practically bouncing with excitement.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Harry bounced onto his bed and let the small bag of sweets fall next to him. Neville put his own into the small over-night-bag he had brought and followed, flopping down.

"I hate this hat," he said into the air and Harry pulled it off his head.

"You got a red streak on your forehead," he informed his friend. "And your hair's all wet on the top. I think your hat's too small."

"Give me that," Neville ordered and grabbed it from Harry's hand. "It was my dad's."

Harry grinned. "Seems like you have a bigger head than your dad did. Who'd have thought?"

"My head's not big!" Neville protested. "And even if it was, at least I don't have hair that sticks up regardless of tons of smelly hair potions. You should have grown it for today."

"My dad had the same _short_ hair!" Harry defended himself and tried to smooth it up once more. His sleeked back hairstyle had only lasted for half an hour, before starting too look as untidy and unkempt as usual. "And Uncle Remus said girls like it."

"Why would you want girls to like your hair?" Neville grimaced. "If you aren't careful, you might end up with even more fans than you already have. And fan _girls_."

"They squeal," Harry agreed disgustedly. "But anyway, the hair looks like I played Quidditch."

"You only say so because Remus told you that. I don't think it looks like after flying."

"You only say that because you can't fly."

"I can fly too!" Neville exclaimed. "Just because I'm not as barmy as you are and fly loops around my own shadow, doesn't mean I can't fly."

"You'll never play for Gryffindor," Harry accused. "And then I have to do it all on my own."

"Aw Harry," Neville mocked him lightly. "Are you afraid of taking on the Slytherins yourself?"

"As if you don't want to run them into the ground, Nev."

Neville shrugged. "Somebody has to keep the bludgers of your back, right?"

Harry sat down and shrugged as well, then stopped. "You know, Dora mentioned the Weasley twins got the beater spots in Gryffindor's team this year in her last letter," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe you can't be a beater because of them."

"I could play chaser." Neville weighed his head from left to right. "But you know I can't throw straight." He sighed disappointed. "Maybe you'll have to do it alone after all."

Frowning, Harry shook his head. "I want you to be in the team too."

"I could join later," Neville considered. "We could see when the Weasley's leave. Or maybe the keeper. Who's keeper?"

"No idea. I'll write Dora tomorrow and ask."

"That reminds me," Neville looked up. "Is Dora still angry because we'll go to Gryffindor?"

"Every time we talk about houses she tries to throw stuff at me, so yeah, I'd say she's still angry." Harry laughed. "Not that she scores or anything. Mostly she falls on her face when she takes aim, so she misses quite spectacularly."

"What else is new?" Neville rolled his eyes. "It'll be a miracle if she ever gets into Auror's Academy."

"Uncle Remus told her curses," Harry pointed out. "And she's sure to have an advantage with her metamorphmagi stuff."

"True."

"True is," Andy started as she came into the room. "that I want you to go to bed. Don't forget to brush your teeth. Harry, use the potion I laid on the cupboard to clean your hair."

"Can we listen to the Wireless for a bit?" Harry asked quickly. "They'll recap the qualification round for the World Cup next year tonight."

Andy took one look at the pleading faces of both boys and sighed heavily. "Alright," she agreed and Harry and Neville cheered. "But only if you're changed for bed and ready to sleep. Neville, your gran wants you back after breakfast and I don't want you to fall asleep on the rug when you step out of the floo."

The two nodded eagerly and dashed off, each trying to reach the bathroom before the other. Andy shook her head and laughed quietly. Then she went to join her husband in the living room, she would have to send him up to check on the boys later. Nobody could get into trouble as much or as fast as they could, especially when they were staying in Harry's room.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"What have you got there?" Ted asked from the couch.

Andy put the last parchment on the rather large second stack and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "The same as last year. Congratulatory letters on the anniversary of his victory, thank you notes, invitations from people who want to meet Harry or who want him to meet other people, queries to use his face and name for advertisement, more thank you notes, more invitations, one interview request for next year as the ten year anniversary and two presents."

"That's it?"

"I think people are starting to understand his birthday is in July. And there isn't one inquiry from any part of the Ministry to advertise them, I'd say that's a point for them."

"What?" Ted asked mock-scandalised. "Do you mean to insinuate the Ministry might be able to understand a 'no' as a no? Andy, we both know better."

"Don't be that way." Andy rolled her eyes. "I need to decline all those offers and make Harry send thank you card for the thank you cards. And tomorrow Remus will take him James and Lily's graves." Andy sighed. "I bet there are even more letters and notes. Remus'll bring them here."

Ted shook his head. "I still say you are doing far too much. Writing thank you cards and even considering these invitations, offers and queries. Just throw them all out and ignore it." Andy moved to protest and Ted held up his hands. "I know, I know. Harry might need one of these people one day and so it's necessary to be polite. And you don't want to give the impression he doesn't appreciate the thankfulness of the wizarding world – which he doesn't – or anger the press. I know, I remember it all from last year."

She grumbled at his tone but nodded. "And for the commercials, I want to avoid a lawsuit like two years ago. If they want use his image for dolls or cups or who-knows-what, they have to ask me first. And I'll tell them no. If Harry wants them after he's of age, it'll be fine. But for know I much rather have a short correspondence with them than have them assume it'll be alright just because he's famous and under-age. Nobody will take advantage of him."

"Calm down, Andy, I'm on your side," Ted pacified her. "You have to talk to him about exactly that before Hogwarts, will you? He'll meet all the children who grew up hearing his story and idolizing him, he needs to be far more careful than he is now."

"I won't be able to protect him then," Andy fretted. "Any parent of a child might walk up to him and talk him into something."

"Andy, calm down!" Ted said forcefully and quickly walked over to her. "Seriously, we have almost a year to make Harry realize he needs to be careful. And he's not stupid. He won't let anyone take advantage of him. Okay?"

She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "You are right. Of course, he'll be fine." She sent him a shaky smile. "Will you go up and switch off the Wireless? Harry and Neville are probably asleep already."

Ted looked at her carefully, then shrugged. "Start with the refusals," he advised. ""I'll help you with the thank you cards when I come back."

Andy nodded and summoned some parchment as her husband exited the living room. Raising a celebrity was hard work.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_Lyra's last line: Thank you for reading about Harry's pre-school life at Andy's. The next chapters are going to come up once a week. Reviews are very much appreciated, especially concerning the (upcoming) Hogwarts-years. But life with the Tonkses so far might already be worth a short note. Ta!_


	4. Halloween 1991

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

IV – October 31st, 1991

"Alright Minerva, just let me step through."

Andromeda stepped out of the fire place and looked around in the office of Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress. Four young Gryffindors stood together against one wall, all looking quite tired and a bit filthy.

The girl, bushy brown hair and wide brown eyes, stood in the middle and tried to hide her tear-streaked face. A red-headed boy, obviously the youngest Weasley, and Neville stood to either side of her, both with wet and torn robes. Finally, Andy looked at her charge, who was trying to avoid her eyes.

"Harry," she greeted him evenly and he looked up, only to gaze back down immediately when he met her eyes.

"I'm going to floo Molly Weasley next, but I can not reach Augusta," Minerva told Andy. She nodded in acceptance.

"You will give me a moment with Harry?" she asked expecting a positive answer. Then she considered, "Actually, let me talk to Neville as well. I should have known they'd be in this together and I _have_ been chewing them out for years now."

Minerva's lips twitched as she agreed. "Of course. Just so you are aware, we already deduced five points each."

Andy frowned.

Five points? How utterly ridiculous.

The professor turned to the students. "Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, accompany Mrs Tonks. Mr Weasley, take a seat while I contact your mother." The young boy blanched and the girl next to him shifted uncomfortably as Minerva's stern gaze locked onto her. "Miss Granger, you can leave. No detours, go to the common room."

Noting that the boys murmured a bit, but did not protest, Andy observed with much interest how the Granger girl searched for Harry's gaze and left only after a nod from him. Andy followed through the door and led the boys trailing behind her into a nearby classroom.

"So," she started patiently. "Who would like to explain why you couldn't even wait a full term before placing your life in danger in a foolish adventure?"

"It wasn't our fault!" Harry exclaimed and Neville nodded fervently. Andy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, excuse me, but from what I just heard you went head to head with a mountain troll while the other students were on their way to the common room. So, how is that not your fault?"

Both boys shifted nervously. Andy looked at them like she always had after a prank or broken vase. "Harry?" she prompted after a few seconds.

He exchanged a look with Neville and answered hurriedly, "Ron insulted Hermione before the feast and she went and hid herself in the girls' loo, and when Professor Quirrel said there was a troll loose we remembered she didn't know and we had to warn her. That's why we went for the loo, but we couldn't have known the troll was there as well!"

"Yeah," agreed Neville. "We thought he'd be in the dungeons, like the professor said."

Andy sighed. "Merlin help me." She sat down on one of the chairs behind a desk and waved at Harry and Neville to do the same. "How, exactly, did you best a troll? Without ending up in the hospital wing, as well?"

"Er," Harry stumbled over his words then explained. "When we came into the loo it was bashing down basins. Hermione was in a corner, ducking and crying and screaming. We tried the stunner Uncle Remus taught us, but it didn't work. Then Neville blew up a pipe and the water started to distract the troll and he lost his club and Ron could drag Hermione to the door –"

"But it noticed –" Neville interrupted. "It noticed me and went after me and Harry tried to stop it but the cutting curse didn't work either. Hermione yelled at Ron to do something and he used Wingardium Leviosa on the club. And suddenly Harry was on the trolls back and stuck his wand up his nose exactly the same time as Ron beat him with the club."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Your wand?"

Harry grimaced. "I remembered what Uncle Remus said, that sometimes pure magic does exactly what you want it to do, even when you don't know how."

"He was just trying to help me," Neville added hastily. "And we were just trying to help Hermione and –"

"Alright, stop," Andy held up a hand. "Calm down." She thought for a moment. "First, and that is because you showed that noble Gryffindor streak of yours to save somebody, both of you are grounded for the first week of Christmas holidays."

"What?"

"Aunt Andy!"

"Sht!" she hushed them both and they quietened immediately. "Grounding you for one week is extremely generous of me. Neville, do you think your gran will be more lenient? Harry, what would Remus say if he was here?"

Both boys looked a bit disgruntled, but accepting enough for Andy to be satisfied. She sighed. "I know you two think you can take on the world, but you have to think things through before rushing into a – a loo with a troll."

Andy shook her head a bit tiredly. "I know that's partially my, Ted's and Remus' fault for telling you all those stories about your parents, your fathers in particular. But you have to remember that most of their adventures happened in their forth or fifth year."

She let her words sink in for a moment, then asked, "Second: Neville, did you blow the pipe up on purpose?"

He denied with a shake of his head.

"See? It was luck. I am very glad you were lucky, but for the next time, please think about what you're doing _before_ you're doing it. What if something had happened? How would your gran feel to come visit you in the hospital wing, Neville? Harry, you know Remus is in no condition to worry about you this weekend. And both of you know Dora would probably skive Auror school to visit you, something she promised not to do. You _have_ to think things through."

She waited until both boys had nodded reluctantly. "Promise me to be more thoughtful. You are both intelligent enough to make a sound plan before rushing into action."

"Okay," Harry and Neville agreed and exchanged a look before both shrugged slowly. "Hermione is really scary that way, she always plans every step three hours before doing it," Neville offered and Harry nodded.

"You are friends with her?" Andy was quite interested in the people who succeeded in making friends with Harry and Neville. They were open-minded and friendly enough to everyone, but didn't make friends easily, mostly due to who Harry was.

"Yeah, we met on the train." Neville elbowed Harry and both grinned. "She was really bossy at first, but we calmed her down somewhat when we showed her some things Remus had told us about."

"Good," Andy nodded. "If she's good at planning bring her along for whatever adventure you head for next. But please, make it less dangerous."

"And having said that…" Andy heaved a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "Let' see now – James would congratulate you on a prank well done, especially after losing only so few points. Frank would be somewhat more reluctant to say the same, but eventually decide that saving the girl was a good thing to do."

She looked at the boys who resembled her long dead - or as good as dead - friends so much and saw them smiling. They thrived on hearing her offer her opinion on what their parents would have said.

"Alice would be glad you're fine and then make you swear not to do that again. Lily – " she hesitated and then shrugged. "I'd wager she'd first hex James for congratulating you and then react the same way I did."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

An hour later Andy stepped out of the floo and was greeted by her concerned husband and daughter. Since Dora had started her training as an Auror right after school this September she now lived at home, apparating to the Auror's Academy in Aberdeen every morning.

"Is Harry alright?" she asked impatiently while her mother dusted herself off.

Andy sighed. "He thought it a good idea to go after a troll with two other first-year boys in order to help his friend Hermione. They got wet, dirty and very lucky. But yes, Dora, Harry is alright."

Ted shook his head and Dora let out a long breath, then started to laugh.

"I know it's probably a stupid question," Ted started. "But one of the two boys was Neville, wasn't it?"

"Of course it was." Andy sat down and accioed a glass and some juice from the kitchen. "I wouldn't know what could be more unlikely, Neville leaving Harry go on his own or Harry leaving Neville."

Dora calmed down and grinned at her mother. "You know, they started following the Marauders from Remus' stories earlier then I thought."

"And that's why they'll be grounded the first week of Christmas holidays," Andy told her. "That reminds me, I have to write to Augusta. Minerva couldn't reach her on the floo so I took over scolding both Harry and Neville."

"Well, it's not the first time you do so," Ted shrugged. "Remember that one time, the summer they were eight, when they decided Dora's room had to fit her hair color?"

Dora's smile slid from her face. "That was one horrible day," she announced. "None of my things should ever – _ever_ – be that shade of bright green again."

"Neither should your hair, dear," Andy smiled at her as Ted chuckled. Dora huffed.

"I still don't believe it when you say you didn't let them have your wands. How else would they have managed it?"

"You blame us?" Ted sounded amused. "Then you're forgetting the only one who could actually put that idea into their heads, aren't you?"

"What? Who?"

"Who do you think, Dora? I remember you enjoyed the story how he and his friends painted the Slytherin common room in Gryffindor red as much as the boys did."

"Remus!" Dora yelled indignantly and then blushed when a tired voice answered, "Yes?"

Andy frowned at her daughter. "Well done, Dora. It's not like he isn't tired enough already."

"Sorry," Dora murmured contritely.

Ted stood up. "I'll look after him. Andy, how about you tell him about Harry's adventure after the full moon. Dora, behave."

She rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly. While she felt far too old to be scolded by her parents, she also felt bad for disturbing Remus, who spend the nights before and after a full moon in the guest room. Andy felt it best to have him nearby when he was weak and wounded, and since Ted couldn't agree more, Remus spend the full moon night in a shed a few kilometers away where Ted apparated him to before moonrise and picked him up after moonset. Andy would heal his wounds and Harry, Dora and sometimes Neville would cheer him up. This arrangement had worked the last ten years and nobody saw any reason to change it – except for Remus, of course, who constantly insisted they didn't need to do so much for him.

Not that anybody listened to him.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Harry grumbled as he sat down in the Gryffindor common room. They had talked to Aunt Andy for almost an hour, telling her about Hogwarts and their friends before she had walked them back to Professor McGonagall's office. Unfortunately, she had remembered and reminded him and Neville again that they would be grounded when they came back for the holidays, which was totally unfair. They had just been trying to help Hermione!

Neville had brought her over on the train to Hogwarts when returning from yet another search for his new toad Trevor and they had quickly become friends with her. She knew a lot of things about the wizarding world even if she was muggle born, but had been so nervous on the train, chattering on and on about what she had read concerning Hogwarts and also Harry. It had taken Harry breaking down in hysterical laughter when he heard a rather bizarre theory about him out of one of the more dodgy history books to stop her flow of words while Neville had just been staring at her, wide eyed.

Surprisingly, they had calmed her down rather quickly. They had always known they wanted to – and were going to – be Gryffindors and promised her that she could choose if she wanted to. Remus, Andy and Granny Augusta had never done what other families did and tried to tell them stories on how houses were chosen and it seemed to help Hermione immensely to hear it was just a harmless hat. She was bossy, but Harry had just grinned at her when she started to correct or order him around, so after the first few times of trying to get him to change into his robes before the hills Dora had told him about were seen, she had given up and been introduced to Exploding Snap.

Some time during the game a Weasley had entered their compartment and Harry had invited him as the fourth person so they could play teams. Ronald – or rather Ron – had been shy and looking uncomfortable until he'd won the first round, after that he had started to get friendly as well. It would be safe to say that now, two months into the school year, Harry and Neville were good friends with Ron and Hermione and friends with their other room mates. Even though they were more often on Hermione's then on Ron's side when those two were fighting (and they were fighting all the time) because somehow Ron always insulted Hermione.

They had two other room mates, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were nice as well. They played Snap with them some evenings and Neville and Seamus sometimes tried to compare Quidditch strategies from Ireland and England, while Harry – who had grown up with Ted, a muggle born and sworn Manchester United fan – and Dean tried to explain football to Ron. The latter would always give up after the question 'but how do they fly?' or 'only one goal?' and challenge one of them to a game of chess.

There were other people in their year, of course. Within Gryffindor, Harry tended to avoid the two girls in their year with whom Hermione shared a room. Pavarti Patil and Lavender Brown had _squealed_ when they had first seen him and that had determined his opinion of them. They were friendly enough but Harry always thought they were just seconds away from asking for an autograph. Harry and Neville knew some first years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, Neville's gran was good friends with Susan Bones' aunt – Amelia Bones – and Hannah Abbot's grandmother and both girls were in Hufflepuff. Harry didn't like Megan Jones from Ravenclaw who _had_ actually asked for his signature on a DADA book, but Neville found her okay. Terry Boot had been challenged to a game of hide and seek in Diagon Alley three years ago and they had been loose friends with him since then.

The only house they avoided contact with was Slytherin, but Harry had already clashed violently with Draco Malfoy, who had introduced himself on the train to Harry of all people as a 'family friend of Harry Potter' without recognizing him. Harry had insulted him quite rudely – Neville later told him that Andy would've grounded him until he graduated if she'd heard his words – and later barely avoided detention when trying to punch his nose.

They knew some of the older students, like Neville's cousin Dorian in Hufflepuff or Ron's brothers – Percy the prefect and the twins Fred and George who were the beaters for Gryffindor – and had gotten to know some more after Harry had squarely beaten Malfoy during their first flying lesson and been heralded as a Quidditch prodigy and new Gryffindor seeker. Malfoy had insulted Hermione for being nervous around a broom and being muggle born in general and while Neville had tried to calm her, Harry had told Malfoy not to act as if he had ever sat on a broom before. Before the argument had escalated Harry had boldly asked Madam Hooch if 'more experienced' fliers like him and Malfoy could go for a short contest. Like usual, nobody denied Harry's polite request and in short order he and Malfoy flew a race against each other. Draco Malfoy demonstrated a family trait and tried to cheat but Harry shot off and quickly won, turning in a daring loop right under Professor McGonagall's window. He had been named seeker within the hour.

Harry still liked Professor McGonagall for that, even though she was strict and looking rather sour all the time. He didn't have much of an opinion about any of his other teachers other than doubting Professor Quirrel's competence – but after being home-schooled by his Uncle Remus, he hadn't expected to be impressed by the DADA teacher, nobody could know as much as Uncle Remus did – and not understanding how Neville could like the Herbology professor as much as he did – because honestly, Herbology was boring stuff only Neville liked to do and read about.

Of course, he hated Professor Snape. That man was horrible and mean and ugly and Harry hated potions with a passion already. Snape seemed to hate Harry just as much and constantly picked him out for the hardest questions only Hermione knew the answer to. At least he didn't take points, he only insulted Harry for being stupid and arrogant while Harry insulted him for being ugly and slimy and a Slytherin.

In his head.

Harry was brave, but not an idiot and the greasy git would probably harvest him for stinky potions if he insulted him.

Uncle Remus had answered his letter rather noncomittal, only saying that Snape and Harry's dad hadn't liked each other much when they were in school together. That was – in Remus' speech – synonymous to 'they tried to kill each other' but didn't help Harry. Aunt Andy only said to be as polite as he could, but she had also grounded him for helping a friend – who was a girl – when a troll was after her. He couldn't believe it.

"I can't believe it," Harry grumbled to Neville who sat down across from him. "She grounded us for a whole week."

Neville grimaced. "Don't remind me. I only hope she tells gran because I really don't want to do that."

Harry grinned weakly and shook his head. He wouldn't like to tell Granny Augusta news like that either. She would raise hell to stand behind them, but Merlin help them if they 'tarnished the reputations of their father's houses'. She had given them a long lecture about posture and behaviour before they left on the train, one Neville had had a nightmare about just a few days back. Harry looked up as Hermione came over to them, carrying a thick book with her.

"Did you get into much trouble?" she asked with a concerned frown. "You were gone so long."

Neville waved his hand at her. "We're grounded for a week," he told her. "And she didn't even yell."

"Then you're lucky," Ron said from the side and sat down next to Neville. "My mum yelled for twenty minutes straight. Said not even Fred and George had needed her to come to school so early in their first year."

Harry looked at him critically. "We're only talking to you if you apologized to Hermione for what you said in class," he informed Ron. "You were rude and she was just helping you."

Ron blushed scarlet and opened his mouth but Hermione beat him, also a bit red in the face. "He did," she confirmed with a nod. "He said sorry when he came into the common room."

"Good," Neville said. "Ron, did your mum give you any punishment?"

"No, she just yelled." Ron rubbed his neck. "That's bad enough, believe me."

"I do," Harry grinned. "Aunt Andy doesn't yell often, but when she does it is very bad."

"I have a question," Hermione announced and looked curiously between Harry and Neville. "Harry, why can your aunt punish Neville too? You live with your gran, don't you, Neville?"

Neville noddded. "Yeah, but I'm at Andy's often enough, it's like she's my aunt as well. She was good friends with my dad, better than with Harry's, and knew both of us before Halloween of eighty-one. And when she started to raise Harry, she helped my gran with me and my gran helped her. And we were both home-schooled at her house and when we pranked somebody or broke something, she would dish out punishments for both of us." He shrugged. "I don't think my gran ever disagreed with her."

"Sometimes your gran would even stock up the grounding or chores, remember?" Harry asked with a laugh. "And she would do it for both of us as well."

"That's horrible." Ron shuddered. "That's like having to sets of parents, who could live with that?"

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed scandalised. "They probably _would_ like to have two parents, you prat!"

Ron blushed again and ducked his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. After a moment, Harry nodded at him. Neville turned to Hermione. "I'm okay with Andy grounding me. Not that I like being grounded, but it's probably better than what my gran would've done."

"Is she your real grandmother?"

Neville blinked at the question. "Er, yeah. Why do you ask that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione apologized hastily. "It's just Harry always says Aunt Andy and Uncle Ted or Remus or so and I wasn't sure if you really mean your grandmother when you say 'gran'."

Harry interrupted. "What difference does it make?" he asked. "I know Aunt Andy and Uncle Ted aren't really my aunt and uncle, and I don't think Uncle Remus is related to me in any way at all. But I don't think it's important, is it? I mean, it doesn't change that they are _like_ aunt and uncle for me."

"You're right, of course," Hermione agreed meekly. "It's not important at all. I was just curious."

"That alright," Neville patted her hand.

"Yeah," Ron piped up. "We know you get curious a lot. We're still your friends."

Hermione beamed at that and Harry and Neville shared a surprised look. Hogwarts was full of miracles – magical and otherwise.


	5. Halloween 1992

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

V – October 31st, 1992

Harry looked around the dungeon and was quite satisfied with the number of ghosts that had shown up for Nick's deathday party.

He bit down a grin and nodded at Neville. His friend didn't even bother to hide his wide smile and moved over to Hermione who stood next to Ron on the side. He whispered into her ear and she flashed a smile at Harry. With a word to Ron she swiftly walked over to one of the tables with the moldy food and jumped on top of it. Ron let off a blast from his wand – the only real magic he could still do with the broken thing after he had run into the barrier at King's Cross. Andy and Ted had apparated them onto the platform when nobody could walk through anymore, but Ron's wand had been broken – and the gathered ghosts turned to the second-year girl getting ready to speak.

Harry smiled. In just a year they had turned Hermione from the over-eager teacher's pet who was far too intelligent to fit in into a really good friend with a rather vindictive streak, who was still far too intelligent for most people but just the right company for Harry and Neville. How Ron fit in wasn't all that obvious, but Harry had found that even though Ron was the laziest person he knew, he had a strategic mind-set most often shown during chess.

All four of them worked quite well together when it came to pranking others. After the adventure they had had last Halloween, they had planned a giant prank for this year. Since they were only in second year, they weren't able to cast some of the great spells Uncle Remus had told them. But they were good in finding accomplices.

Harry and Neville had been on the way to their weekly visit to the kitchens, when the Nearly Headless Nick, Gryffindor's house ghost, frequent visitor of the common room and one of Hermione's favourite interview victims concerning Hogwarts' History, had popped up to stop them from entering. Professor Sinistra – she of the astronomy tower – was having a late night snack. Nick had then invited them to his deathday party and the boys were too thankful to decline. A few days later Hermione asked a very good question that set Harry's sense for pranking off: Did ghosts like to scare people like they did in muggle stories?

Apparently, they did. Once in a while, giving people a good scare seemed to amuse them. But since wizards were so acclimated to ghosts, they mostly didn't even remember they existed – especially in Hogwarts were over a hundred ghosts were floating around all day. The caretaker Filch tended to curse about Peeves daily, but the other, respectable ghosts were mostly ignored by students and professors.

Harry had thought of a plan within minutes and his three friends had been quite taken with it. And when they presented it to Nick, he had thought it a brilliant party game for his deathday party. Which brought him and his guests down here on Halloween, listening to Hermione.

"Please try not to scare the house elves too much," she was saying just that moment. "They are not our targets tonight and probably too busy with the feast to care anyway. When you have chosen a position along the house tables – or the professor's table – please stay there until you hear the signal. We want you to move up as one." She looked around and saw Harry nod. "Very well then. Let's go to the kitchen!"

The ghosts moved around, chattering. The ones not from Hogwarts were simply pulled along by the others and the dungeon was soon empty as the last slid through a wall. Harry and Neville grinned. Ron was practically bouncing where he stood and even Hermione looked rather flushed with excitement.

"Are we going or what?" Ron asked impatiently. Harry withdrew his invisibility cloak from his robe pocket and passed it to Hermione.

"You have five minutes to go to the kitchen and give the signal," Harry reminded her and Hermione nodded, grabbed the cloak and vanished.

"I'm not sure I like my part," they heard their invisible friend mutter, and Ron waved his hand into the direction she had been standing.

"You lost the game," he said quickly. "And the one who lost has to give the signal."

"Go," Harry ordered with a wide grin. A moment later the door opened and closed and the remaining three grinned at each other, then rushed out. While Hermione was hurrying to the kitchen to give the ghosts the awaited signal, Harry, Ron and Neville were going to stand outside the Great Hall. They were rather impatient to hear the surprised and scared screams of the assembled students, so impatient they were already giggling madly when they arrived at the doors.

As a bonus for Nick they had discovered a sound-activated spell, which would reveal a poster with the words 'Happy 500th Deathday, Sir Nick' when more than two people shouted loudly. It wasn't foolproof – loud yelling would activate it as well – but it was an easy spell and Nick was sure going to be pleased. And it would hopefully appease the professors enough so they wouldn't ask whose idea it was. Even then, they couldn't fault any of the four for attending Nick's party because they had been given Professor McGonagall's okay – Hermione wouldn't have gone to the deathday party without it – and there was no proof any of them ever went to the kitchen – that's why Hermione was wearing the cloak, no ghost or elf would be able to tell who it was.

Harry looked at his watch. Two more minutes.

This was going to be grand.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

After Halloween last year, the four first years had rarely been seen apart. They explored the castle together and Harry would retell stories he had heard from his Uncle Remus when they discovered a new short-cut or other interesting things. Hermione particularly liked one that led from the sixth floor directly to the corridor across the library – a narrow, spiral staircase James Potter had often used to spy on or surprise Lily Evans.

Neville and Harry also showed them the kitchen, laughing themselves silly when the pear actually _giggled_, just like Remus and Dora had told them. They spend quite a lot of time in the kitchen, and the house elves were delighted to have guests they could feed. Neville and Harry had a hard time to keep Hermione from interviewing every single elf, that girl was just too interested in discovering more and more about magical creatures, but were saved when an old elf with white tuffs of hair in his ears brought her tea and offered to talk to her if she would let the other elves do their work.

Besides exploring with his friends, Harry enjoyed Quidditch and loved the training. Ron and Neville tended to accompany him to the field, while Hermione most often fled to the library before anyone could ask her to come. Classes were okay but not challenging for anyone except from Ron and their homework was done fast enough to spend the rest of the day walking through the castle and finding passages or weird rooms full of magical stuff, avoiding Filch and Mrs Norris and searching for secrets.

The four friends had discovered the secret behind the third floor shortly after Christmas. Guarded by a Cerberus, a trap door led to a secret of Headmaster Dumbledore. They had seen the big three headed dog when exploring the forbidden corridor under Harry's new invisibility cloak – it had belonged to Harry's father and that was the only reason Andy had let him keep it. When Harry had found it under the tree on Christmas he had immediately known what it was, it had featured in Uncle Remus' stories often enough. Still sore about the whole troll-thing, Aunt Andy had threatened to keep the cloak until his fourteenth birthday, but some well-placed pleas and the promise not to do anything stupid had satisfied her.

Of course, one could argue that exploring a forbidden corridor where a horrible death was waiting – Headmaster Dumbledore's words – wasn't the most intelligent thing to do, but it didn't seem stupid in either Harry's or Neville's eyes. Hermione had given up lecturing them about the importance of the curfew sometime after the second volume of a rare series from the restricted section had made its way into her hands and Ron generally slept so soundly, even Neville tripping over his trunk didn't wake him.

So Harry and Neville had met a Cerberus, which was thankfully sleeping when they came in. They had turned and left in a panic right away, but not before noticing the trap door. The next evening, when they were sitting in the kitchen grabbing some treacle tarts for the weekend, they had tried to get some information out of the house elves. But while the elves liked the two boys who came to visit them, they hadn't said much after explaining that it was 'Master Headmaster Dumbledore's secret thing' and offering some cocoa.

Hermione thought it best to leave it as it was, Ron wasn't interested after hearing about the giant dog with three sets of sharp teeth and even Neville had sounded a bit too scared of his grandmother's wrath to risk going on an adventure so soon after the troll-thing. So Harry had waited.

During that time he and Neville teamed up to out-prank the Weasley twins and while Ron never joined them, Hermione provided them with a lot of information and researched spells to help them. Fred and George had turned her hair blue one morning and she hadn't taken it well. She was a real genius when it came to looking up spells and jinxes that were manageable for first-years and the three of them soon managed to prank the Weasleys back, who were at first out-raged, then excited. The prank war lasted until shortly after Easter, when Harry and Neville conceded but swore to try again next year. Fred and George had been delighted. Uncle Remus had been quite proud they had lasted as long against third-years.

The reason they had conceded was simple: Harry had overheard Professors Quirrel and Snape and was now convinced Snape was trying to to go after Headmaster Dumbledore's secret thing. After some prodding from Harry and Neville, Hermione looked up an alarm jinx that was easy enough. It was tripped a few times, but every time they came to look who had set it off, nobody was on the corridor. Well, at least until that one time in early June, when the door to the big dog stood wide open and the sound of an enchanted harp and three snoring heads filled the hallway.

The four friends had jumped down the trap door and battled their way past strange obstacles – a giant plant, flying keys, a chess board, an already unconscious troll and a potions riddle. Harry was the only one who went into the chamber hidden behind a wall of flames, almost driving Neville mad with worry. Ron had passed out after the chess game he'd won for them and Hermione turned back to get help after solving the riddle.

Instead of Snape, Harry found Quirrel in front of a mirror. The professor tried to shoot a spell at him, but years of training to be a seeker with his best friend doubling as a human bludger made Harry dodge and evade him. After a few more tries, though, Quirrel managed to bind Harry with robes and stood muttering about the stone and his master.

A few hours later, Harry woke up in the hospital wing and could not really remember what happened. Quirrel had had another face on the back of his head and it was clear that this had been a supposedly dead You-Know-Who. When Quirrel had tried to drag Harry in front of the mirror – to get some kind of stone out, although Harry'd had no idea what the man was talking about – the professor could not touch him without being burned.

Harry had been quite fearful when Andy had hugged him in the hospital wing. She hadn't been too happy with him and grounded him for two weeks in which he was to do nothing but his homework, but at least Harry discovered he could still touch her, his family and his friends. Neville had followed him around for two days before he was reassured enough that Harry wasn't fainting or anything like that – he had been quite weak after the Quirrelmort-thing – but after the last Quidditch game of the season everything was back to normal.

They had found out that You-Know-Who, or rather Voldemort as Professor Dumbledore advised them to call him, had been searching for the Philosopher's Stone which was hidden in the mirror. And they had won an awful lot of points for going after Quirrel – or for breaking the rules, as Hermione put it.

In the end, Gryffindor won the House cup and the Quidditch cup, Harry and Draco Malfoy engaged in a fist fight on the train back home – one which Harry won, but only because Neville and Ron cursed Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy's shadows – and Hermione gave them her telephone number even though Harry was the only one who would be able to call her - his Uncle Ted insisted on vital muggle things like telephone and a TV.

Apart from the first two weeks where Harry had been grounded and forced to study and Neville had been recruited to clean a greenhouse with his great-uncle Algie, the four friends spend the summer together. They played Quidditch in the Weasley's orchard, were introduced to cinema in Hermione's neighbourhood, listened to Dora trying to scare them with tales about dark magic, listened to Remus entertaining them with more Marauder stories, watched Harry and Neville try themselves in another prank war against Fred and George and met the combined wrath of Molly Weasley, Andromeda Tonks and Augusta Longbottom.

It was a fun time for all.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

When the loud shrieks and screams sounded through the door Harry, Ron and Neville burst out laughing.

They enjoyed the loud noise for at least two minutes until a bang erupted from somewhere in the hall, apparently one of the teachers had found his wand and tried to silence the students.

The ghost appeared out of nowhere, probably having moved through the wall, each one of them looking more or less amused – Peeves was laughing himself silly, the Fat Friar was grinning widely and the Bloody Baron had a frightening glint in his eyes, to name a few.

Nick was the last to exit, saluting them as he passed. He'd had fun, that much was obvious.

After they had calmed down a bit, Harry led them up the stairs, aiming to go to the common room to meet up with Hermione. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, when he heard a voice.

"Kill," the voice said and Harry looked around wildly. Neville and Ron looked at him in concern.

"Harry?" Neville asked. "Are you alright?"

"Sh," Harry hushed him, just as the voice sounded again, sounding a bit more distant then the first time. "Kill… Let me kill you… tear you…"

Without another word to his friends Harry started to run, hurrying up several flights of stairs, rushing through corridors until he nearly slipped – the whole corridor was flooded with water. When Neville and Ron came to stop behind him, Harry was staring at the wall, horrified.

_THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED_ was written on the wall with dark red paint that looked lie blood. Underneath it was a second line _ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE_.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered and Neville and Harry nodded. Next to the writing, bound to a torch bracket by her tail, hung Mrs Norris, Filch's horrible cat, stiff and dead looking.

The three boys shared a look and turned to leave as quickly as they could, when Professor Snape appeared around a corner.

"Potter, Longbottom and Weasley," the potions professor said silkily. "What are you doing… ?" He trailed of when his gaze focused onto the mess behind them. "Well, well…" he muttered and Harry was sure they would lose Gryffindor every single point, when the Headmaster materialized behind Snape.

"Ah, Severus," he greeted the professor, then nodded at the boys. "Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, Mr Weasley." His eyes lost their customary twinkle when he as well saw the wall behind the boys, and he moved over to the cat and the writing quickly, inspecting it. Professor Snape steered the boys back, then took Mrs Norris down with a wave of his wand. He let her hover on eye-level with Harry, who turned away. He would rather watch Dumbledore, then look at a dead cat.

The Headmaster made a thoughtful sound, then waved his hand and curtains appeared to cover the wall. He made a gesture to follow him into a nearby classroom and they all did.

Neville and Harry were exchanging worried glances – were they about to be punished for this? Ron looked pale but couldn't look away from Mrs Norris, who Snape had floating in front of him.

"Can you tell me what happened here, boys?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"No idea, sir," Neville was the first to answer. "we were on our was up to the tower when –"

"– when we saw the water," Harry interrupted. He didn't want Dumbledore to know he had heard a voice. Uncle Remus didn't say many good things about the Headmaster, and while he hadn't done anything to Harry, he didn't feel the need to tell him everything. "We came to look and when we saw Mrs Norris we tried to get away."

"And why were you so fast to run off?" Snape asked with an evil smirk. "Come to think of it, why were you up here anyway, when all your classmates were in the Great Hall?"

Harry crossed his arms. "We didn't want anyone to blame us for Mrs Norris. And we weren't at the feast because we were at Nick's Death Party."

"Oh, I remember," Dumbledore cut in, the twinkle returning to his eyes ful force. "I suppose you left because you couldn't take part in the delightful surprise the ghosts decided to give those in the Great Hall? Quite understandable."

Neville made a sound like he wanted to snicker but stopped himself. Of course, they had been so disappointed they could not fly up through the floor and scare people half to death that they'd decided to rather leave the party. Dumbledore logic.

"Headmaster, they killed the cat." Snape scowled at Harry who blinked back unfazed while Ron moved to protest.

"We did not kill her! We found her like that."

"A likely story," Snape turned his glare to Ron. "Who killed her if it wasn't you and everybody else was at the feast?"

"Severus," Dumbledore said, mildly disapproving. "I can reassure you, she is not dead."

Snape looked as if he could care less about the cat as long as Harry and his friends got in trouble, but turned to look at the Headmaster questioningly. "She is merely petrified," Dumbledore explained and smiled benignly.

"How was she petrified?" Harry asked curiously and Dumbledore turned his twinkling eyes to him. "Yes, how indeed…"

Harry refrained from rolling his eyes, but looked longingly at the door as the silence dragged on, Neville sighing impatiently, Ron glaring at Snape, Snape scowling at Harry and Dumbledore stroking his beard thoughtfully while staring into the air right above Harry's head. After a few more seconds Snape cleared his throat and looked at the Headmaster, who in turn smiled at the three Gryffindors.

"Well then, I believe you are free to go," Dumbledore said and Harry fought the urge to smile at Snape's disgruntled expression. "The students have all returned to their common rooms, and you should do the same. I wish you a pleasant evening."

With forced calm, the three stepped out of the room, but once outside, they started to hurry for Gryffindor tower. Harry cast a curious look back at the puddles still covering most of the hallway's floor and almost slipped again.

What the _hell_ had happened here?

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

With a thoughtful face Harry sat down in one of the armchairs – strangely enough the very same he had sat in exactly one year ago – and looked up when Hermione sat down across from him. She looked out of breath and flushed, passing him the invisbility cloak.

"I hope you had fun at the Great Hall." She smiled regretfully and Harry nodded shortly, returning to his thoughts while Neville settled next to him, explaining to Hermione how they had found Mrs Norris and how Dumbledore and Snape had found them.

Hermione frowned. "Why weren't Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore at the feast?" she questioned thoughtfully. "Do you think they knew something would happen?"

"Maybe one of them made it happen," Ron offered readily. "Snape. And Dumbledore wanted to stop him."

"Please," sighed Neville. "We had the same debate last year, before we went after the stone. D'you remember? Dumbledore was gone and we thought Snape might be after whatever he had hidden?"

"'Course I remember." Ron waved his hand at Neville. "But that was last year, and how should I have known it was Quirrelmort?" Neville snorted at the name Harry had coined after the incident. Ron was the only one who actively used it, but even hermione's lips twitched every time she heard the name. "Besides," Ron continued. "With Lockhart here, Snape is the only evil one left. Or do you think the ponce is capable of doing anything right, apart from brushing his teeth?"

Neville laughed loudly at that, startling Harry. Hermione glared at Ron. "Professor Lockhart is a great wizard! If you had read the books –"

" – then you would still call him a ponce, but a stupid one," Harry interrupted, joining the conversation. "I told you since the start of term, Hermione, the books are rubbish. _Wandering__ with__ Werewolves_ alone should be enough to show you that."

"And I told you, Harry, just because Professor Lockhart doesn't flaunt his knowledge doesn't mean he lied in his books."

"Hermione," Harry said with a long-suffering sigh. "If there was a spell to cure werewolves, don't you think they would actually cure all of them? If you could scare a vampire with that weird array of consonants he gives as a hex, don't you think people would use it and stop being afraid?"

"But his books –"

"Remember," Neville cut in. "Remember the theories you told us you read about Harry. Not a one was true and you got them all out of books."

Hermione blushed and opened her mouth to protest. When she couldn't think of anything, she closed it abruptly and crossed her arms defiantly. Harry and Neville sighed simultaneously. She just didn't want to believe them.

"Anyway," Ron said after a moment of silence. "Do you or do you not think Snape has anything to do with Mrs Norris?"

"What I would really like to know," Harry muttered instead of an answer. "is why the whole corridor was so wet. Is there a bathroom on that floor?"

Neville nodded and chuckled. "I know you would like to take a look at that loo, but it's for girls."

Harry eyed Hermione speculatively. When she realised what he meant, she shook her head furiously. "No!" she protested. "No, no, no. I'm not going into Myrtle's bathroom. She's horrible!"

Ron looked confused. "Who in Merlin's name is Myrtle?"

Hermione sighed. "She's the ghost who haunts the loo. She's called the Moaning Myrtle because she's always in a horrible mood, crying and wailing all the time. I'm not going in there," she said forcibly to Harry.

Ron already had another question. "What kind of ghost haunts a _loo_ of all places?" he asked disbelievingly. "That's just ridiculous."

Neville shrugged and answered, "The ghost in the old piano room isn't much better, is it?" while Harry started to plead with Hermione. "Come on, you won't be alone. I could come with you under the cloak, but I'm not going into a girl's toilet on my own."

"Well, me neither."

"But you're a girl!"

"So? There are more than enough loos, I really don't want to enter that one."

Harry sighed and leaned back in his armchair, gazing around the Common Room thoughtfully. Suddendly he sat straight up. "Ginny!"

The first-year girl had been sitting alone at a desk, writing into a little book. When she heard her name she jumped, then turned to Harry and his friends. He waved her over, and after a moment of hesitation she grabbed her book and quill and wandered over.

When Harry, Neville and Hermione had visited the Burrow – the Weasley's home – together that summer, Ginny had sqealed loudly as she had seen Harry. He had needed as much time to agree to sitting in a room with a sqealing fangirl as she had to get herself under control. Funnily enough, it had been Hermione who had dragged her out, explained Harry's dislike to all things related to his fame and asked her to not do that again. Ron – who had been about to do the same but in a lot less sensitive manner – and Neville had taken the time to calm Harry, who was half-way to the fireplace already. He _really_ didn't like sqeals.

During the rest of the summer, Ginny had gradually become accustomed to Ron's famous friend. And even though the twins liked to tease her about her crush, she had managed to be her normal self around Harry. She was still somewhat shy, but at least she could talk to him without blushing or fainting. Harry thought she was certainly better company than Percy. Neville thought Hermione liked having Ginny around as another girl. Ron was okay either way – when Ginny stayed away, her loss, if she decided to join them, well, wasn't much different to the time before Hogwarts.

As Ginny perched on the armrest of Hermione's armchair, Harry suddenly felt guilty because they hadn't really paid attention to her since coming back to Hogwarts. Of course, it wasn't their job to do so, but after the summer, Harry and Neville considered her a kind of friend, a loose one like Terry Boot or Susan Bones.

Neville frowned at Ginny. She was pale, her freckles stood out like they were painted on and she clutched the little black book as if it was her life line. "Are you alright?" he asked carefully, prompting the other three second-years to look at the younger girl.

Ginny nodded quickly, shifting uncomfortably under their gazes. Ron was the one to bring attention to the book. "What have you got there?"

"Just- just a diary," Ginny answered, clutching it even tighter to herself. "Mum or Dad must've bought it for me."

"The bought you a diary?" Ron frowned.

"Well, yeah," she said defensively."You got to take a pet to Hogwarts, I didn't. I got a diary."

"Who's T.M. Riddle?" Hermione asked curiously, having peeked at the imprinted name visible under Ginny's arm.

"It belonged to him," Ginny turned a bit so Hermione couldn't see the diary any longer. "They must've bought it second hand."

"Can I look at it?" Harry asked and stretched out his hand.

Ginny leaned back and looked at him suspiciously. "why?"

Harry shrugged. "I've seen the name Riddle in the trophy room when I had detention last week. You know, for the stink pellets."

After a second of hesitation, she handed it to him reluctantly. He started paging through it.

"Haven't you written anything in it? And Riddle neither?" he asked confused and Ginny huffed. "Of course I have. It just vanishes whenever I write something."

Hermione looked exasperated. "What good is a diary if you can't read what you've written?"

"It's a _magical_ diary," Ginny answered with a shrug. "It's not like a normal one, I can talk to Tom through it. He answers me and shows me stuff."

"Excuse me?" Neville frowned. "Who's Tom?"

"Riddle. Tom Riddle. It was his diary and he must've written in it with vanishing ink or something."

"No," Hermione said slowly. "If he had, it wouldn't answer you. It would just show you what he had written."

Ginny frowned and tried to take the book from Harry, who leaned back quickly and held it out of reach. She stoo dup and looked ready to yell at him.

"I don't like it," he told her. "It's suspicious. When did you get it?"

"After we went shopping for books," Ginny answered, rolling her eyes. "Now give me back my diary."

"No."

Ron shook his head. "Just give it back to her, mate. What's suspicious about a diary?"

Harry refused again. "Look, I'm not saying it's evil or something, just that it's suspicious."

"It's my diary!"

"It's weird, it makes my scar tingle and I'm not giving it back."

Ginny stood there with her hands balled to fists, glaring at Harry. She looked around for help, but Ron was just shaking his head at her and Harry, Neville was looking between them worriedly and Hermione frowned thoughtfully at Harry's words. Ginny scowled, then huffed and stomped past them up to the dorm.

When they heard the loud bang of the door slamming shut, Ron chuckled. "Brilliant. Why did you ÄRGER her like that, Harry?"

Harry frowned at him. "Because I'm serious. Not about the scar tingling, but it does seem strange to me. I've never heard of an answering diary, and Dora had practically every weird wizard invention there is."

"More like Dora and her Auror training are making you paranoid," Neville said. "She talks to much about the dark artifacts they are studying."

"Or it's all the stories you Uncle Ted told us about you Aunt Andy's family," Hermione suggested, referring to the tales about the Blacks Ted had told them during the summer. "I mean, it's a diary."

"A weird one," Harry insisted. His friends didn't look convinced and Harry raked his free hand through his always messy hair. "Look, I'm giving it to Uncle Remus and he can check it. I'll even buy a new one for Ginny until he does. And if it's completely harmless and I'm being stupid, she can have it back. Alright?"

"She won't like it," Ron cautioned, then shrugged. "But it doesn't matter to me."

Hermione was biting her lip. "I'd like to think you're not doing this just to tease Ginny."

"I'm not!"

"Good," she nodded at him. "If it makes you feel better, make sure it's safe. I'm heading up for bed. Good night."

Neville sighed as he stood up. "Remus will now how to check it," he agreed. "But you better owl-order a new one first thing in the morning. It's the only right thing after stealing her diary."

"She could hex you," Ron warned while they went up to their own dorm. "If she's really angry, you know. Fred and George said they heard Bill teaching her some hex that hurts like hell because things come out of you nose."

Harry and Neville shuddered. Remus hadn't taught them anything like that. It didn't sound nice.

When they had settled into their beds, Ron closed his curtains after wishing them a good night an pushing Scabbers off his pillow. Dean and Seamus were already sleeping, and Neville looked over to Harry. He nodded to the book Harry still had in his hand.

"When?"

Harry grinned. "Did you know they never lock up the trophy room?" he asked instead of answering while climbing out of the bed again. "And there's a fireplace with floo-connection there. The Marauders found out in sixth year."

Neville grinned and shook his head ruefully. "Good thing Hermione gave you back that cloak. Be careful."

Harry winked at him and vanished. Neville watched the door open and close and searched for one of those mirrors Remus had gifted them with on their birthdays. He laid it next to his pillow and closed his eyes, waiting for Harry to call him so he could open the portrait hole for his return.

With an invisbility cloak and a two-way mirror, the risks of getting caught were pretty slim.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Remus was lounging on his sofa, reading a rather entertaining novel when the fire changed colors. He nearly yelped when he heard his almost-nephew call his name and crouched down with a concerned look on his face.

"Harry?" he asked disbelievingly. "Harry! What are you doing? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"

"I am at Hogwarts," Harry answered quickly. "Trophy room."

"Great Merlin, Harry. I didn't tell you about that so you would try it. You'll be in trouble if they catch you."

Remus eyes widened when Harry's expression turned into the same one of arrogant confidence James had often worn.

"Please," the twelce-year-old drawled. "As if they'd catch me." Then he seemed to remember something. "I have a problem, Uncle Remus."

"I should hope so," Remus said with humour. "I don't want you sneaking around to talk to me just because you felt like it. A letter would be much less trouble."

"Haha," Harry laughed drily. "Ginny – Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister – had this diary. It's weird and I don't like it because it answers instead of just being a diary."

"Oh Harry," Remus sighed. "You took it from her?"

"It's weird!" Harry defended himself. "Can't you check it?"

Remus sighed again. "Of course I can," he answered. "Just pass it through."

Harry's face vanished for a moment and a second later a little black book flew out of the fireplace. Remus caught it, looked at it briefly but couldn't find anything curious. Just to keep Harry happy he put it aside and decided to 'check it' in the morning. Harry's face came back into the fire.

"Uncle Remus? Did you get it?

"I did," Remus confirmed. "But why couldn't you just sent it with you owl tomorrow?"

Looking startled, he knew Harry shrugged. "Dunno. This way was faster." Then Harry grinned. "Anyway, I have to buy a new diary-book for Ginny. One that isn't as weird."

Remus shook his head and wished him a good night. The fire turned into its normal color and he returned to his novel. Whatever the diary was, it wasn't interesting or dangerous enough to be dealt with immediately. Maybe tomorrow he would look into what spell made a book answer its reader.

For someone who liked books like he did, that sounded like an interesting project.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_Lyra__'__s__ last__ line:_ Probably the most anti-climatic chapter in this story, and yet the hardest to write. I don't really like it, but it had to happen. Sadly enough, I'm in need of a new beta-reader. So if anyone would like to have the job: wave wildly and send me a pm.

Anyway, Friday will bring you 3rd year, and that's my favourite chapter (yet). Review if you feel like it.


	6. Halloween 1993

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JK Rowling's party, I'm just rocking the dance floor._

**Halloween**

VI – October 31st, 1993

Remus stared at the pile of parchment in front of him. He'd been a professor at Hogwarts for just two months and enjoyed every aspect of it thoroughly. Except maybe the sneering face of Snive- Severus. While he wanted to curse the man on a daily basis, just smiling and calling him by his first name riled him up so much, it amused Remus greatly.

The full moon the night before hadn't taken as much out of him as usual, the supplied potion from S- Severus helped a lot. But he was still too weak to help supervise the students, on the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year. Plus, the constantly growing pile of essays needed grading. They were not amusing at all. Therefore, any distraction would be quite welcome, before the students returned from the village. 

As if Magic itself had heard his wish and decided to grant it, a knock sounded on the door.

"Enter," he called and gave a delighted smile when Harry opened the door and looked in. The smile quickly faded and Remus raised an eyebrow in question as Harry stomped in, throwing himself into one of the chairs in front of Remus' desk. The third-year Gryffindor was scowling viciously, as if trying to make the papers burst into flames. His hair stood up in short spikes, something Harry had copied from Nymphadora, Remus was sure. The boy seemed furious and after a minute of silence, Remus asked,

"Are you alright?"

"No!"

Remus blinked and waited for another minute, but Harry didn't elaborate. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, but didn't seem able to articulate whatever it was that had made him this angry. Remus busied himself making tea for them and watched him. Eventually, he bit out a demand.

"Tell me what happened to Sirius and Peter. After Mum and Dad died."

Remus sighed. "We don't know what happened, Harry. Only your Aunt Andy was home when Sirius brought you, and she didn't get any answers out of him, not that she had time to really ask questions. I know you want to know exactly what happened, but I cannot tell you and believe me, I would if I could."

Harry looked mutinous. They had never talked about what had happened to allow Voldemort to get to James and Lily, nor had one of the adults in Harry's life ever explained what had become of Sirius and Peter. Harry had thought both Peter and Sirius dead, until this summer when his godfather had escaped from Azkaban, forcing Andy, Ted and Remus to tell him the truth – or what they had pieced together, anyway.

Harry had not been pleased, but had accepted their reasoning after Dora had gone to have a chat with him. They had come out of the room Harry had stormed into with the conclusion that Azkaban was maybe even worse than death, because of the dementors. That the evil creatures were now guarding the school had reinforced this belief – both Harry and Neville heard their mothers screaming whenever a dementor was near, but luckily it was indistinct enough so they did not faint like one of the first-years had.

Even so, Remus and Harry were still not sure what they disliked more, the dementors themselves or the reason they had for being stationed around the school. The Ministry had placed the order of 'Kiss on sight' on Sirius and believed he would come to Hogwarts. Harry had talked about somehow finding his godfather before the dementors or Aurors did during the last week of summer. Dora had been right behind him, but knew not to say these things too loud, she was, after all, an Auror trainee these days.

Harry huffed and clinked his cup loudly when he set it back on the table. He was still looking rather displeased and Remus tried to pacify him by once again recounting what he knew.

"The best guess we have is that Peter was the secret keeper to your parent's Fidelius charm. For some reason he gave the secret to Voldemort, either because he was tortured or because he was a traitor, we don't know. Something happened when Voldemort tried to kill you and he died instead. Sirius came too late to do anything else apart from rescuing you from the burning house and brought you to Andy. And then he went after Peter, killing him with a Blasting Hex that also killed thirteen muggles."

"Are you sure he killed the muggles?"

"No, we're not. For all we know their deaths were accidents when Sirius blew up the street. I personally don't believe Sirius would ever kill over a dozen innocent bystanders. It's not like him."

"Then how can you know he killed Peter? Are you sure he's dead?"

"Pretty sure, yes. After all, the biggest part we found of Peter was a finger." Harry looked ready to protest some more and Remus sighed. "I don't even blame Sirius, you know. Peter betrayed James and Lily and he shouldn't have done that despite any torture they might have put him through. And Sirius was probably overcome with grief when he went after him."

Harry was silent, then confessed, "I overheard some of the professors talking in Hogsmeade. In the three broomsticks. They were talking about Sirius, that he'd betrayed Mum and Dad, not Peter. And they say he's after me now. Why do they say he's after me? Everybody knows he brought me to Aunt Andy."

"Most wizards are under the misconception that Sirius was a Death Eater. They think he killed one of his best friends and all those muggles in cold blood. Andy tried to talk about Sirius to Aurors more than a few times but after a year she gave up. She had you to take care of, and Dora and even me at times. And now we can't change anybody's thoughts on him."

Harry deflated and rubbed his eyes. He let his hair grew back his usual length – long enough to cover his scar but short enough to stick up at the back of his head – and mumbled, "I really would have liked to meet him. Even if he did kill the muggles. And Peter."

Remus gave him a searching look. "Harry, don't go looking for him. I know Andy asked you to be very careful when going out to Hogsmeade, but please, when you go sneaking around – and I know you will – please stay with the other students and away from secluded places."

Harry scowled at Remus. "What's wrong with wanting to meet my godfather?"

"Nothing is _wrong_ with that, except that we don't know how he is after all these years in Azkaban," Remus calmly reminded him. It wasn't like he was any more happy about it than Harry. Sirius had been his best friend. But those had been different times. And now… "He'll have gone mad. I wish you could have met him just as much as I wish you could have met your parents and Peter. But as it is now it would not be safe."

Harry crossed his arms and looked past Remus, pouting. "You think he would do something to me like all those stupid people in the Ministry."

"No, I don't think he would want to do that." Remus sighed again. "But Azkaban – the dementors in Azkaban – they drive people mad. Dora has told you about their effect on people, you've felt it on the train. After twelve years with them, it's likely Sirius wouldn't even know what he was doing. He is almost certainly mad, probably half-starved and maybe even ill. Nobody knows what he might do. Just promise me you won't go searching for him."

Harry refused to answer but Remus waited patiently. The now thirteen year old boy had never been one to sit still or be quiet for very long. After a few minutes, Remus said quietly, "Think of what you would do to Andy." And Harry grimaced guiltily.

Last year, when Professor Lockhart had held a meeting for a duelling club Harry and Neville had decided to break into the Professor's office and prank him. They had held no respect for the man they routinely called a fraud and didn't think he could teach them anything, so they had sent Hermione and Ron to the club meeting and broken into the office using Harry's invisibility cloak and some lock-picks nicked from the Weasley twins. The next morning, Lockhart had found all his normally colourful robes black and his hair a muted grey, much to his anger.

The furious professor had then tried to obliviate a Gryffindor first-year who took a picture of him, only to be stunned and yelled at by Professor McGonagall, who was nothing if not vicious when somebody dared to attack one of her own. The resulting scolding Harry and Neville had received got Andy to Hogwarts for the first time that year. She had to return twice within the same year, when Harry had mouthed off towards Lucius Malfoy who came by for one of his many visits and insulted both Mr Malfoy and Professor Snape, and when he and his friends had gotten caught in the explosion of an experimental prank potion they had been brewing in a secluded room.

Hermione and Neville were quite good at potions, but Harry and Ron had been bored, played around and accidentally knocked more Augurey feathers into the brew then necessary. By the time Hermione noticed, the feathers had already heated up. The cauldron exploded, the four students were showered with sticky fluid and started to sprout feathers all over. The teachers and Madam Pomfrey had been at a loss how to fix them, and the parents and guardians of all four were told that it might be irreversible. Luckily, the feathers had fallen out after a while.

Still, after the school year Andy hadn't let Harry out of her sight for too long, sure he would somehow find his way into trouble. Harry had been annoyed and snapped at her for a few times, resulting in him being grounded for most of the first half of the summer. Only after Remus had sat him down and explained Andy's reasoning did he calm down. And two weeks after that, Sirius had escaped from Azkaban, making Andy worry even more; not only about Harry's inherent magnetism for trouble, Dora's Auror training and Remus' monthly escapades, but also about her cousin on the run. In turn, Harry had taken to reassuring her wherever he could, going as far as completing his summer homework without being reminded and refraining from pranking anyone for most of August. Andy was happy. Remus was happy. Ted was happy and took pity on the thirteen-year-old a few times, taking him to a movie theatre or apparating him to the Burrow.

Now, Harry had the same expression on his face he always had when wanting something.

"Will you tell me about my Mum and Dad again? The story how he asked her out on Halloween?"

"Of course I will." Remus smiled and poured himself another cup of tea. "It was a normal feast for us that year, at least in the beginning…"

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The Great Hall was splendidly decorated for the feast. Harry was sitting in between Ron and Neville, slowly munching on a treacle tart, his mind still on the conversation with Remus earlier that day.

"Are you alright, mate?" Neville asked quietly, brows drawn together in concern.

Harry shrugged. "I'm fine."

"You'd say you're fine even if you were on fire," Neville snorted. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just don't feel like celebrating."

Neville stared at him for a few seconds, bewildered. As long as he could remember, Harry had always loved Halloween. And it wasn't like him at all to sit somewhere in silence, like he did now.

"Do you want to leave?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I think I'll go up to the dorm," he said. "You stay here with the others, maybe it's best if I lay down for a bit. You and Ron can wake me before you go to bed, yeah?"

He stood up while Neville nodded. "Sure, we'll bring you something to eat, if you want."

"Oi, where are you going?" Ron asked, oblivious to the prior conversation because he had been busy feeding his pet rat with crumbs. Hermione and Ginny looked up from their whispered discussion across the table, curious. Harry sighed and turned to leave without another word and Neville started to explain that Harry wasn't feeling well.

Dragging his feet, Harry slowly made his way up to Gryffindor Tower, not quite sure how to squash the urge to go out and search his godfather. After all, if Remus was right – and Harry had long since come to the conclusion that his Uncle Remus was nearly always right – then the poor man was hungry, dirty and probably cold. Maybe even sick. Harry didn't know him, but it was his godfather, the man Harry's parents had trusted to take care of their child, who had brought him to Aunt Andy where he had a wonderful life and who had been both his father's and Remus' best friend. It was a bad situation, made worse by everyone not part of Harry's family thinking Sirius an evil git.

He had seen a lot of pictures of his parents and their friends, even owned a photo album with various photographs of the Marauder's school years and his parents wedding. When he had seen one of the wanted posters that hung in every corner of the Wizarding World, he had been shocked to see that the man bore little resemblance to the godfather he knew from his pictures. Against everything Uncle Remus had said, Harry hoped that Azkaban hadn't driven him as mad as he looked on that poster. He had wanted to meet the man since hearing about him – only the wish to meet his parents was stronger – wanted to hear stories from him like he always heard from Remus and – that was an important 'and' – wanted Sirius to show him how to become an Animagus. That was a talent he had wanted to learn since he'd understood that the big dog playing with baby Harry in one of the pictures was in fact his godfather, Padfoot as he was called in Remus stories, or Sirius, as Andy told Harry to call him.

Being an Animagus would be marvellous. He and Neville had repeatedly wondered what forms they could have, Harry would prefer either a bird-like or a canine creature. A cat would be okay as well, but not as awesome as, say, an eagle. Or a wolf like Uncle Remus, though that was a different story.

Harry turned a corner and stopped cold. At the end of the corridor hung the portrait of the the Fat Lady, guarding the Gryffindor common room. But in the middle of said corridor trotted a big, black dog with shaggy fur, eyes fixed on the portrait.

Shocked, Harry blinked. Then he blinked again, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, after an entire afternoon of worrying about exactly that dog. Or man. His godfather, either way.

"Padfoot?" Harry whispered bewildered, and the dog froze as his ears twitched.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Merlin, it _is_ you," Harry breathed in astonishment and hurried towards the animagus. The dog had apparently chosen to hold off any reaction and sat down heavily, looking up at Harry with as confused an expression as a dog could and panted. Harry grinned down at him happily, then gave a start. "Oh," he said, "we're in the middle of the hallway. You best come with me, the dorms are empty now."

He moved to the entrance of the common room and gave the Lady the password, then turned around again, looking at Padfoot expectantly. "Well, are you coming?"

The dog rose slowly, but finally padded after Harry, climbing through the portrait hole a bit awkwardly. Harry was still grinning and led the way up to the third year dorm, confident that the dog that was his godfather would follow him. He was a bit startled when the animagus raced in and started to sniff around the room, but closed the door and warded it with the strongest locking charm he knew. Which wouldn't hold out many people, but his dormmates at least.

Harry flopped down on his bed and looked at the dog expectantly as he stopped running around and sat down in front of Harry, cocking his head to one side and lolling his tongue out. After a few moments, Harry sighed impatiently and waved his hand at him. "Well, won't you change? I'd like to say hello properly, y'know."

The dog hesitated and blinked. Then he changed into a ragged looking man in torn robes. He was dirty, had long, stringy hair and looked far too thin. Haunted eyes stared down at the third-year – who was beaming at him – in confusion.

"Hello?" he asked with a raspy, unused voice, then blinked in surprise when the boy's grin stretched even wider.

"Hello!" Harry cheered and fought the urge to jump up and down on his bed. Then he remembered his manners. "D'you want to sit?"

Sirius Black – escaped convict who had broken into Hogwarts to become a murderer – stared at his inexplicably cheerful godson, feeling absolutely overwhelmed. Not only had he met Harry again after twelve years, but the boy who looked liked James seemed to know exactly who he was. And wasn't the least bit afraid. Suddenly another thought occurred him, and he realised something he thought he had heard: had he called him _Padfoot _?

"You – you know me?"

"Of course I know you," Harry said incredulously, the grin falling from his face. "Shouldn't I?"

Sirius frowned. "I don't know. I thought – I didn't think anyone would tell you about me?"

"Why not?" Harry answered with a shrug. "You brought me to Aunt Andy, she talks about you – and Uncle Remus tells stories about you and my dad and Peter all the time."

"Remus? No, wait. Aunt Andy? You live with Andy?"

Harry blinked. "Yeah, I mean, of course. She says you brought me to her after my parents were killed. Didn't you think I would live there?"

"I – I think I thought you'd have to go live with your aunt, the muggle." Sirius sank down on the bed across from Harry, running a hand through his rather disgusting hair and grimacing. "Andy is a much better choice though." He added with a determined nod.

"Yeah she is," Harry agreed readily, only to deflate a bit. "'Course I never actually met my muggle aunt, but I heard she's awful. Uncle Remus says Mum didn't like her."

Sirius gave a small smile. "You know Remus?"

Harry peered at his godfather dubiously. "Y'know, everyone says Azkaban makes people go mad. You're not mad, are you? Because that would really suck, but you're asking the strangest questions."

Black eyebrows vanished under matted hair and Sirius looked confused again. "What?"

"D'you feel mad?"

"A bit," Sirius confessed. "But that might be because you seem to know far more than I expected. Or because I never was all that sane to begin with. Madness runs in the family."

"Not in Aunt Andy!"

Taken aback at the fierce defence of his cousin, Sirius held up his hands to pacify Harry. "I should think not. She's one of the few family members I would actually admit to being related to."

"Good." It was quiet for a few seconds, then Harry asked. "Why did you ask if I knew Uncle Remus? I do, by the way."

Sirius shrugged. "I was surprised, that's all. I thought you'd gone to live with your muggle aunt. I even tried to visit you there this summer, as Padfoot, I did. Couldn't find you though. And if you'd grown up there, then you probably wouldn't have known Moony. Or Andy."

"Don't think I'd like that."

"I don't think so either."

"But you were the one to bring me to Aunt Andy."

"I forgot. Azkaban – the dementors. They drain your good memories. Makes you forget them and causes you to remember your worst memories over and over again. Only thing I remember from that night is –" He swallowed and the haunted look in his eyes which had faded slightly returned full force. " – is finding James."

"Oh." Harry stared at his hands for a long moment, then looked back up at the man on Neville's bed. Sirius was staring blankly ahead, doubtlessly seeing his dead friend again. "What happened that night? Nobody knows."

"Your parents made Wormtail the secret keeper of their Fidelius charm when they went into hiding." His voice was as hollow as his eyes were. "We let everyone think I was to be it, so I could act as a decoy. Wormtail should have gone to hiding as soon as the charm was cast. But Wormtail – the traitorous _rat_ – went to Voldemort instead. He told him and –"

"Oh," Harry repeated weakly, shocked to the core. He hadn't thought one of his father's friend would have really – _willingly_ – betrayed them. Although he should have realised that Uncle Remus had at least suspected Peter to have done it voluntarily or he would've talked about him more and taken his death harder. "Is that why you – you know – killed him?"

"I didn't kill him," Sirius snarled viciously. He sighed and deflated. "I wanted to, I did. So I brought you to Andy and left Hagrid to take care of your parents b–bodies. I went after the little rat, but when I finally found him, he actually bested me. Cried out that _I_ had betrayed James and Lily and blew up the street with all those muggles. Then he cut off a finger and got away in the sewerage."

Harry was absolutely horrified. Everybody had thought Sirius was a murderer. Even Uncle Remus and Aunt Andy, who hadn't believed that Sirius would have ever betrayed his friends, had been convinced that he had at least killed Peter, although they hadn't been willing to believe Sirius had killed any muggles. This story overthrew quite a few beliefs of the wizarding world, but Harry was glad for it. At least he now had a godfather who was innocent and out of prison.

"So…" he said after a while and Sirius started in surprise. "What are you doing here, of all places? Not that I'm not happy to meet you and all."

Sirius gave a little, sad smile. "I'm honestly sorry, but I didn't come here to see you." Harry's face must have shown his disappointment, because his godfather hastily added, "Although I watched your last Quidditch game! You're a fantastic flyer, even better than you dad was." Harry grinned happily and Sirius felt like congratulating himself before remembering why he actually _was_ at Hogwarts. He reached inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show Harry.

It was a photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, after Arthur Weasley had won a thousand galleons and taken all of the Weasleys to visit his oldest son in Egypt. There, on Ron's shoulder, exactly where Sirius was pointing, was Scabbers.

"Fudge," stated Sirius as explanation. "came to inspect Azkaban a few months ago and gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said this boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to you."

Harry stared at the picture, thunderstruck. Scabbers? Scabbers was Peter, his father's friend? No, his parents betrayer. Hadn't he just seen the rat, in the Great Hall with Ron?

"You came here to kill him, then?" Harry asked hoarsely and cleared his throat. When Sirius nodded with a scowl, he exclaimed, "But you can't! They'll have you back in Azkaban in a jiffy!"

"He's the reason your parents are dead! I spend twelve years in Azkaban because of this traitor, I _will_ kill him!"

"No!"

"Oh yes, I will!"

Harry jumped from his bed and stormed over to the door. "No, you won't! Come on, we'll go to Uncle Remus. He'll talk sense into you."

Sirius lost his scowl and asked surprised. "Moony is here?"

"Yeah, he's Professor Lupin now. DADA."

Sirius stared at him for a few heartbeats, then let out a rusty chuckle. Than another. And another, until he threw his head back and dissolved into a fit of barking laughter, occasionally panting the words "Professor" and "Lupin".

Harry observed quietly, smiling a bit, but inwardly wondering if Sirius' sanity had really suffered that much in Azkaban. He didn't get the joke at all.

After a while, Sirius calmed down and looked at Harry with a rather pleased expression. The boy grinned unsurely, then offered, "If you want, I can take you to Uncle Remus quarters now. I know the password, so if you want to shower and filch his clothes, that'd be alright. Everyone's still at the feast, so we could surprise him or something!"

"Yeah, surprise old Moony."

The two looked at each other for a moment before Sirius said determinedly, "I still want to kill Wormtail."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, grow up. And change to dog and follow me."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Ted sat in the living room, relaxing into an armchair, watching the recap of a Manchester United match. Dora had come home from a Auror training run half an hour ago, collapsed on the couch on the other side of the room and not moved since. Andy was in the kitchen, humming and fixing tea for herself and Ted.

Halloween had been an event for years, until Harry had gone to Hogwarts. For the last three years, it had been a day like any other in the Tonks' home. But it was the day Andy missed Harry the most. He was such a cheerful boy, mischievous like his father, kind like his mother and as bright as both of them. Andy loved him as if he was her own son.

Most of the time, Harry was her son, for all intents and purposes. She had never once felt as if he was anything else. Twelve years ago, to the hour, she and Ted had made the decision to raise Harry and never once regretted it. He came with with more strings attached than Dora - his constant stream of fanmail, the legal matters of his family name and his popularity – but brought his own rewards as well. Andy liked to think that James and Lily would be happy with how their son had been raised. He had grown up loved and well cared for, not spoiled or worshipped. He had two uncles, an aunt, a grandma, a sister-slash-victim and an almost-brother. And a vast multitude of friends.

Thinking about Harry and his friends had her worrying again. It felt like she hadn't done much else in the last months, ever since Sirius had broken out of Azkaban. The sheer notion of somebody breaking out of Azkaban was ridiculous enough, the escapee being her favourite cousin was horrible, but the wanted posters made it worse. Sirius looked – quite simply – mad.

While she remembered the man he who had brought little Harry to them, she still first thought of the cheeky nine-year-old who stole her new Prefect badge. And the prisoner on the posters spread throughout the Wizarding World held little resemblance to that man.A mad laugh, dull eyes, haggard face, decaying teeth, stringy hair. Nothing like the handsome cousin she had had.

Andy shook her head, pushing the thoughts from her mind. She hoped he was safe somewhere, and not as insane as he looked. She felt ill when she thought of the rumours she had heard. People suspected Sirius to be after Harry, that he would try and 'finish the job'. Andy, Ted and Remus knew better, of course, but it didn't help to allay her worry. Sirius was undernourished and surely hungry. Maybe lying in a cold, deserted alley, having pneumonia and hallucinations.

She shuddered and focussed on another train of thought. Dora. She was still a Auror Trainee, and loved it, even if her mother thought it too dangerous and worried constantly. While Dora was clumsy as can be – and nobody knew where that came from – she was also rather talented in her line of work. Her metamorphmagic – nobody knew where that came from, either – had her excelling at anything related to disguise and tracking. The training had taken her to Azkaban a few weeks ago, to assess the prison and it's dangers and merits. Dora had come back shaken and with nightmares for the following week, and if that was the outcome of spending a day in Azkaban, how could one survive twelve years and retain his sanity?

But there she went again, worrying. Why was it that every topic made her fret about someone? She spend the whole day yesterday and most of this morning worrying about Remus. The night before had been a full moon and she was used to Remus using their guest room to recover, she much preferred taking care of him to wondering whether he was alright. He had the Wolfsbane-Potion, supplied by Severus Snape, this year, but who knew how he would feel in the summer, without it? And even with the Potion, he would still feel weak and ill. Andy hoped Harry took the time to visit Remus today, the day after a full moon was better than the day before, but even with the Wolfsbane-after-transformation-dose and pepper-up, Remus was bound to be sickly today.

Following the tea tray she was levitating, Andy moved to the living room. She spared a glance for the television, recognised the colours of the players and rolled her eyes. At least one person in her life she didn't have to worry about: Ted. He was perfectly happy and always there to calm her down when her concern got out of hand. If only they had managed to instal some of his laid-back attitude into Dora and Harry. As it was, Ted was the only completely sane person in the house, when everybody was home. Harry – and Neville – wreaked havoc most of the time, tormented Dora who gave as good as she got, Andy herself was busy running around behind them, trying to do damage control while Ted sat back and watched. When visiting, 'gran' Augusta kept following Andy, scolding the boys continuously, while Remus usually got roped in to whatever scheme Harry and Neville had cooked up. He just couldn't say no to the boy.

Andy jumped and barely held on to her cup as the fireplace roared.

"Ted? Andy?"

Speak of the devil. Remus' head had appeared in the fire and she hurried over. "Remus? Is Harry alright? Are you?"

"Yes, yes, everyone's fine. Can I come through? With a guest?"

Andy blinked at him. He looked cheerful, grinning from ear to ear, quite uncommon for the day after the full moon. Belatedly, she realised he was still waiting for an answer. "Yes. Yes, of course."

Remus nodded, delighted, and his head vanished. Andy walked in to the kitchen, shaking her head, bemused. She took two additional cups out and returned to the living room, stopping in shock. Remus had stepped out of the fireplace, still grinning widely, and moved aside.

And Sirius Black came through.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_Lyra's last line:_ Yes, I'm letting you imagine a reunion scene for yourself. Not because I can't think of one, but because I can't decide how to write it. Tough luck. Quite a bit more action next Halloween. ;)


End file.
